The Untamed
by CourtneyHowlett
Summary: Bella Swan moved into a cabin near the Quileute Reservation to escape from her hectic life. What she needed was to be alone…but is she really as alone as she thinks she is? Can Bella tame the beast lurking in the depths of the forest? Can he, the beast, learn to love the beauty? AU/OOC Jake/Bella, some Paul/Bella
1. Animal

**The Untamed**

**A/N: So I thought I'd start off with saying THANK YOU for checking out my fic! Thanks for giving it a change, and I'm hoping it will be a hit for my twi-hards.**

**Summary: Bella Swan moved into a cabin near the Quileute Reservation to escape from her hectic life. What she needed was to be alone…but is she really as alone as she thinks she is? Can Bella tame the beast lurking in the depths of the forest? Can he, the beast, learn to love the beauty?**

**Rated M for language, dialogue and (later!) sexual content.**

**This is a Jacob/Bella fic, and it's completely AU. Jake and Bella are OOC—basically I'm making up a whole different story with a plot that's completely original and mine. All rights go to Stephenie Meyer. **

**Filler In: Bella's never ever met Jacob until she moved into the cabin near the Res. Jake's a werewolf, Bella's an innocent human, da da da…Therefore—no hybrid Renesmee and absolutely no Jake imprinting on a baby! And yes, there will be imprinting in this story. Jake's thoughts are italics as well as Bella's…like Embry, Quil, Sam, etc… are in the bars. Like these: [ ]**

**Enough rambling! Onto the story! Promise that my author's notes will never be this long again!**

**Chapter 1: Animal**

Bella Swan took a look at her brand new cabin. It had taken her some time to save up for it, but now that she had it…there was no going back home. After a horrendous breakup with her possessive ex-boyfriend Edward Cullen and a huge fight with her father Charlie over something stupid that she wouldn't remember in a few weeks to come. Bella decided that it would be best if she got some solitude and privacy out in the vast forests near the Quileute Reservation.

The real-estate agent had told her that the Quileutes were a peaceful group, and weren't likely to approach her or give her any trouble. Bella breathed in the fresh air, the scent of pine, burning logs, and sweet tree sap invading her nostrils. She stepped out of her rusty red truck and closed the door behind her. Grabbing her suitcases from the back of the truck, she rushed onto the porch of the cabin. She used her little key to unlock the front door. She peered inside, her eyes widening at the sight of a shiny interior.

Her kitchen was glossy, her sitting room was classy, and the bathroom sparkled with cleanliness. Bella threw her suitcase onto the floor and mounted the steps to the large bedroom and the alternate sitting room. She flung open the door to her bedroom, gasping at the freshly made bed and the open balcony windows. This was something that the agent definitely hadn't told her about. A freaking balcony in her bedroom? Unbelievable.

A breeze floated through the forest, blowing her chestnut locks into disarray. She splayed her palms on the stone ledge of the balcony. It was large enough to seat a porch chair and a small end table if she'd wanted it there. She smiled, looking out towards the trees. It was perfect, everything was undeniably, unbelievably _perfect._

0o0o0o0o

He watched in anger as she stood on the balcony of the new cabin. He'd heard from the others that there was a cabin being built just on the outskirts of the Reservation. He knew what would happen. One thing would lead to another and more outsiders would see the cabin and would want to live there.

Soon the Reservation's peaceful atmosphere would be bombarded with drunk, noisy humans throwing trash around, smoking their cigars, having loud parties, and wreaking havoc upon their tranquil little society.

A deep growl erupted from his throat. Didn't she know that this was _his_ territory? These were _his_ woods. He moved closer through the forest. Usually the Council Members didn't tolerate houses and cabins being built so closely to the Res, but for some strange reason they didn't say a damn thing about this shrimp of a human girl.

He glanced up at the balcony once more, realizing that she'd gone back inside of the cabin. He stood up straight, narrowing his eyes as he searched for movement inside of her cabin. He spotted her through the bedroom window, lugging her heavy suitcase into the room. She unloaded a strange device and plugged it into the wall, pushing the power button. What was she doing? What the hell—

He hissed, clamping his hands over his ears in attempt to block out the noise. He scowled at the girl. After living most of his life in sheer silence with only the music of nature to serenade his ears, the sound of upbeat Pop music made him want to shove a tree through her bedroom window. He watched her take a pile of clothes into her arms and stuff them into the empty drawers.

Tonight

_We are young_

_So let's set the world on fire_

_We can shine brighter_

_Than the sun_

He watched her sing the words, fidgeting awkwardly to the music. Something about her odd way of dancing made him want to laugh. But his feelings of mirth were pushed away. He clenched his fists. The music hurt his ears—he had a strong sense of hearing and could probably hear a pin drop a mile away.

The disturbances made him want to shift into his other form and scare her away, but the Council Members forbade it. She eagerly loaded pile after pile of clothing and her personal items into their proper place inside of her room—he could tell she'd be staying for a while. His head hung as he groaned in frustration.

He wanted to roar so loudly that it would send her running back to wherever she came from.

The girl looked up from her unpacking and came to the window again. He slunk back and hid himself behind a rotting log. She opened the window, and dropped something that looked like a bit of paper out of the window. He growled loudly.

The way her head snapped up in shock made him realize that she'd heard him. He bent down slightly, making himself invisible from her eyes. He glared into those soft brown eyes, and to his dismay, felt his anger lessen slightly. Another breeze drifted amongst the trees, blowing her scent straight to his nostrils. He inhaled, curiosity hanging in the air before him. She smelled _so fucking good_ to him. Like lavender and vanilla…like purity and innocence.

He stepped out from the log in pursuit of that beautiful scent, but stopped dead in his tracks when the girl glanced his way. He moved to dart behind the nearest tree, but found that his feet were glued to the spot where they stood. He blinked, the world suddenly becoming misty and foggy. Everything began fading out to a black—everything but her face, those eyes, that scent…

His eyes rolled back slightly as he inhaled again. He cocked his head to the right, not understanding what was happening. He was so caught up in the moment, so wonderfully mesmerized by every move, every breath she took. It didn't make sense how his feelings went from loathing her entire being to being captured by her majestic beauty. He hadn't noticed that beauty a few minutes ago. He'd detested every bone beneath that skin of hers, but now he couldn't find it in himself to hate her.

She had a long, pale face with a petite nose. Her eyes were large and brown, almost too big for her delicate face. But they captivated him in a way that he'd never experienced before. Her hair was the color of chestnuts in autumn, cascading down her back in a waterfall of lush waves.

The look of worry that spread across her features made him want to laugh out loud. She was adorable. She was childish. She was young, and spirited. He could tell. It seemed like he just knew.

Suddenly, a flash of white appeared before his eyes, visions of the future invading his mind like the army. They were all about that strange girl. Visions flickered in his mind like film strips of an old movie—she laughed, she cried, she smiled, she kissed, she loved…but there was one vision in particular that made him choke on his breath. A child. A child with curly black hair and bright eyes. She had lightly tanned skin and a sweet, dimpled smile.

It was like gravity. His whole center shifted and suddenly it wasn't gravity that was keeping him on the earth anymore. It was her. He would do anything, be anything that she needed. A friend, a brother, a protector…a _lover._

His legs gave way and he dropped to his knees, the visions running through his mind. He unfolded his arms and let his wolf take over his emotions. He panted heavily, not believing a single thing he saw. His heart pounded in his chest. She stood and shut the window. The moment she turned his trance was broken and he collapsed onto the forest floor, unconscious.

0o0o0o0o

"Jake. Jake, you're awake!" He awoke with a start when Kim's hands shook him from his sleep. He panicked slightly, flinching at her touch. Where was the girl? Where had she gone? He had to find her.

Rubbing his eyes, he looked around the room. "Where the hell am I?" he asked her. Kim dipped a small rag into a bowl of cold water and laid it over his sweaty forehead.

"You're at our house, Jake. Jared found you in the woods near the human cabin. He said you'd fainted. I've been taking care of you for two hours now. I thought you'd never wake." He tried to sit up, but Kim's hands gentle hands pushed him back down. "I don't think so, big guy. You need some rest. I know that you'll want to head back out there with the boys and have some fun, but your temperature's soaring. You need to take it easy."

He allowed her to wipe his sweaty face with the cold rag. "I was actually wondering why your were over at the human cabin in the first place," Kim pondered aloud. "Jared told me that Sam said he didn't want anybody going over there."

Jake looked up at her. "I was hunting," he quickly replied. He wasn't much of a talker, especially to women. He thought that women would be his downfall and if he hung around them too much he'd soften up like Sam, Jared, and Quil and become a marshmallow. Paul didn't seem to have a problem when it came to being around women—Lahote was a complete manwhore in everyone else's mind. He had a new girl in his bedroom every night.

"Quil found your bow and arrow by the campsite. I don't see much use of hunting if you didn't have your special weapon." Kim pointed out, waggling a brow his direction. Jake scowled at her from below. His head ached and he wasn't in the mood for this.

"I was fishing," he corrected himself with a sharp growl. Kim fell silent. She removed the rag from his forehead and dunked it back into the clay bowl. She rung it out with her hands and placed it on his firm chest.

"Jake," she began softly.

He rolled his eyes in irritation. "What?"

"Did you catch anything?"

"Obviously not," Jake snapped in response. "I don't have a fish stuffed down my pants, Kim." She shrunk back as if his words physically stung her. Her shoulders drooped slightly, as she backed away from him. Pulling up a stool near him, she let loose a meek smile and shifted the rag into a different position.

"Why don't I believe you, Black?" Kim asked sincerely.

He shrugged, "I don't know."

"You just wanted to see the human—"

Jake growled, pushing her hands off of his simmering chest. He stood against Kim's will, throwing the rag to the side and storming towards the door. "Jacob!" Kim cried, throwing herself in front of the door before he could touch the doorknob. "You can't leave. I won't let you. You're sick—"

"Kim, just do me a favor and leave me alone. I'm fine and I don't need your help." He pushed her aside and darted out of the front door. He felt slightly guilty that he'd talked to her like that, Jared's beloved imprint being told off by the hotheaded Beta wolf. He was sure that Jared would kick his ass for it later, but all that he cared about was getting the hell out of there.

"Jacob Black!" Kim hissed, hustling after him. "I'll tell Jared…" she trailed off once she noticed that she was only talking to the swaying trees. Jake had already disappeared into the woods.

0o0o0o0o

Honestly, he had no idea why he pursued this human girl in such a way. After he'd left Kim's, he'd snuck into the forest for solitude. He tried to father his feelings about this girl. He knew what happened in the forest, and it terrified him.

When he had awoken in the arms of Kim, and his mind instantly drifted to her, it was like a bright neon sign flashing in his mind. Screaming the word over and over in his mind.

Never had he felt such an attraction to anyone before. When he was younger, he used to feel the slightest bit of affection and adoration towards Leah Clearwater. He could almost say attraction.

_ But hell, _he thought. _Now she's just an angry bitch that takes her pleasure in annoying the shit out of me._

He gritted his teeth at the thought of Leah. The wind floated around him and he inhaled a deep breath, eyes fluttering shut. Lavender and vanilla, purity and innocence. He felt himself becoming feral. He cocked his head left and right, stretching the stiffness in his neck. He rolled his shoulders forward before plunging deeper into the depths of the forest.

He tracked that scent, and he tracked it well. Apart from being Sam's Beta wolf, he also took great pride in being the pack's best hunter. He could track anything with his keen sense of smell and hearing.

Jake saw the human's cabin in the clearing. He approached it with amazing speed, hoping to find her sleeping inside of her cabin. He wanted to see her chest rise and fall with each labored breath she took. He wanted to see her dream.

It was three o' clock in the morning and it was pitch black and freezing. To his surprise he found her sitting on the porch of her cabin reading some stupid book titled _Pride and Prejudice_. The glass lantern hanging from the hook on the roof of the porch blew in the wind, the bright flame contained inside of it trembling with the movement.

_What the hell is she doing out here at three o' clock in the fucking morning reading a damned book? Doesn't she know it's dangerous to be out here at such a time of night?_ He found himself feeling protective over this girl.

The strings of his heart gave a sharp tug when he saw her smile at whatever she was reading. His wolf howled and thrashed inside of his body, clawing at Jake's skin to be let out. He took a step forward under the influence of his wolf, a twig snapping loudly under his bare feet. The girl dropped the book onto her lap in surprise, reaching for the rifle that was resting behind her chair, perfectly hidden.

0o0o0o0o

Bella raised the gun, squinting her eyes into the darkness. The lantern blew in the strong, frequent breezes that drifted through the forest. The light flickered menacingly, casting shadows onto her face. "Please don't go out," she pleaded to the lantern.

She could faintly see the outline of a tall man standing between the trees…just watching her. He was so still that she wondered if someone was really there, or if her mind was just playing cruel tricks on her. "Who's there? Come out or I'll shoot!"

Bella saw the figure emerge from the shadows and hesitantly step into the lantern's light. She let out the breath that she didn't even realize that she was holding and lowered the rifle. "You scared me. I thought you were some animal." Her tone of voice remained relaxed, but she still kept a strong hold on her gun.

The young man chuckled and shook his head. It gave Bella a moment to look at him. He had long black hair with his bangs pulled to the back of his head with some kind of Native American clasp securing it there. _I like it,_ Bella thought. He had deep, brown eyes much like hers and a small, slightly stubbed nose. His cheek bones were defined well, making him look incredibly masculine. He had a dimpled chin—Bella was a complete sucker for those. And it just so happened that Edward, her ex-boyfriend didn't have one. There was no doubt in her mind that this mysterious guy was beautiful.

Charlie had always told her that the most beautiful ones would most likely be the ones to lure her in and do something terrible to her…like rape her. Bella's absolute fear was to be raped. That, and snakes. But something about this guy told her that it was okay to put the rifle down. After all, he was a 'peaceful Native' as the real estate agent had said, and he wouldn't dare inflict 'violence upon her.'

He was freakishly tall and muscular. He probably measured about 6'7 in height and had over two hundred pounds of pure muscles. He wore a navy blue jacket over his naked chest and tight jeans that perfectly hugged his bottom-half. She also noticed that he was barefoot. Bella wondered if he just normally went around without shoes, or just simply didn't own a pair. She gulped.

He shoved his hands into his jean pockets, obviously annoyed at her awkward staring. She opened her mouth as if she were going to talk, but made no sound.

0o0o0o0o

"You scared me. I thought you were some animal," she nervously laughed. He chuckled and shook his head.

_Ironic, _he thought. He stood in the light as her eyes glided over his body, inspecting him. He allowed her to stare at him for a few moments before shoving his hands into his pockets in slight embarrassment of her prolonged gawking. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water.

He raised his brow, urging her to speak.

_Let me hear your sweet voice. _

"Here I am, all armed with my gun and it's just…you. And I'm glad it's you, even though I have no clue who you are. I'm just really glad you're not some scary animal." She jabbered on.

_ Oh, but I am a scary animal. When I want to be, at least._

"And I'm glad I didn't shoot you either. You seem like a nice person that doesn't want to rape me…"

The last line made him choke on his breath, eyes widening. He was tempted not to erupt and spew nasty comments out at such an insult (he did _not _look like a rapist), but on the other he was tempted not to burst into a rage of shocked laughter at that ridiculous comment. He began to turn back to the forest, thinking it best if he left the human alone. He tried to fight his wolf's pained howling, telling him to turn his ass around and make a move.

"God, I'm so sorry!" she waved her hands in the air, stopping him in his tracks. "Please don't go. You're obviously not a creeper, and I know that now. I'm Bella Swan…I just moved here from downtown Forks. It's nice to meet you."

_Bella…damn, that's a beautiful fuckin' name._

He turned, watching as she cumbersomely held out her hand in a feeble invitation for a handshake. He simply stared at her hand, not moving to take it, no matter how much his wolf put up a fight. She blinked, slowly inching it back and rubbing it against her lavender shirt. "Okay…" she breathed. "Do you live in that Quileute Reservation nearby?"

That he could answer to. Or at least he thought. His confidence vanished like a light when that sweet smile spread across her face. He was left gasping for air like a fish out of water as well.

Having that need to answer her, he quickly nodded his head. He didn't want to come off as rude. _Bella_ ran a hand through her hair, smoothing down any imperfections.

_Baby, you're perfect…_Jake thought.

"You want a drink?" Bella asked softly. "I got some beer inside the cabin…here, lemme get it." She disappeared into the cabin to fetch the drinks for him. He shifted onto his other foot, waiting for her.

Suddenly a familiar voice rang through his head.

[Hey kid, I need you here.] Sam's voice echoed through his head.

_I'm in the middle of something,_ Jake replied in an irked tone of voice.

[I don't care about what you're doing, Jake. You're the Beta wolf and you've got to step up and take the place of the Alpha's second hand man. If you can't deal with that, then I'll be happy to downgrade you and let Lahote have the position.]

_Hell, Sam. I'll be there in a minute. What's the hurry anyways?_

[Leech.] Sam replied.

A wave of disgust washed over Jacob as the stench of vampire invaded his nostrils. He tried to remain controlled and calm as he walked away.

_I can smell the leech. I'm coming._

With that, Jake morphed into his wolf form and darted out into the forest. For a brief moment, he looked back to see Bella on the porch with two beer bottles in hand. She looked around and called for him. Jake looked ahead and sped off into the darkness.

0o0o0o0o

"Hey man, how are you?" Embry asked, slapping Jake on the back with one powerful blow. He began to try to think up a reasonable answer to tell his best friend. He wasn't in the mood for small talk after an insanely long hunt. The leech had definitely put up a good fight for a small, frail-looking girl. Embry had protected the imprints at Emily's house while the others raced after the vampire.

"Fine," Jake replied, wiping the beads of sweat away from his forehead.

"You look hot. Like, sweating hot. How's about you and me head down to First Beach to cool off?" Embry grinned his dope little grin and shifted excitedly from one foot to the other.

Jake looked as his pathetic friend and shook his head. "No, I'm not really in the mood to be around swarming crowds of people."

Embry tried to hide his disappointment. "That's cool. Maybe we could hit up the new girl's place." He winked his eye.

"No," Jake said. "Sam said to stay away from her." It was true—Sam had said to stay away from the girl's cabin. It wasn't okay for Embry and the other members of the pack to visit in his mind; it was only okay for him. At least _he_ had a reason.

Embry laughed, shaking his head. "Cut the shit, Black. I've seen your thoughts, and lately they've only been on the brunette chick in the cabin."

Jake's face flushed red, embarrassed at being caught in his act of stalking her. Being a shapeshifter-wolf, there was absolutely no way of hiding his thoughts from the pack. The good part about sharing thoughts was that he could communicate with the others if he were ever in need of assistance.

The bad part about it was that he never had any privacy and everyone's nasty, dirty, inappropriate thoughts would flash before his eyes and scare the living hell out of him. He'd remembered the time that Quil had had a sexual fantasy about his fifteen-year-old girlfriend Claire, and the whole pack had seen it. Paul and Jared teased endlessly him for months, and Leah was permanently disgusted with the horrible things he wanted to do his 'little girl.' He leaned up against the tree and exhaled a big breath of air.

"So, what's the chick's name?" Embry asked.

"Bella," he smiled at the remembrance of her. "Bella Swan."

"Is she hotter in person?"

"Fuck," Jake agreed. Those big brown eyes, long chestnut hair, wide childbearing hips, and curves in all the right places made him want to have a sexual fantasy about her. He felt like a creeper.

"Yeah," Embry nodded. "We need a babe around here. I swear to God, Paul's screwed every single one of 'em."

Jake cracked a smile at that comment. "Except Leah."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm tired to trying to fantasize about Leah. It's just not happening for me, y'know?" Embry replied.

They both laughed at Embry's comment about the Clearwater girl. Embry was the one person that could make him laugh when he sure as hell didn't feel like laughing. Poor Lee-Lee was teased constantly due to her position as the only female wolf in the Uley Pack. "Leah's been up on my ass ever since trashed her for Emily. I'm next in line for Alpha, so of course she'd try and steal me away. I swear, she just wants the title."

"Hell Jake, every chick's up on you." Embry complained. "You're lucky."

"I don't want them. I just…I'm looking for someone that's, y'know, special. I think I've found that, but I'm not really sure."

"Ha!" Embry cried. "I knew it."

Jake's eyes widened immediately. "You _knew what?_" he asked in a confused manner.

"You imprinted." Embry spoke.

Jake fell silent.

"You did, didn't you?"

"Emb…I don't know. I think I did, but I've never felt this way before. About anyone. Not even my own family." Jake reasoned.

"I'm pretty sure you did. I sensed it when you fainted, and so did Jared. He found you by the chick's cabin and knew there was something up. Remember Jake, Jared fainted when he imprinted on Kim as well." Embry sauntered forward, a wicked grin on his face. "Congrats, man."

"Don't." Jake growled, shaking his head. His friend's eyebrows raised in shock and confusion. "This is going to ruin my life. This woman. I can never concentrate anymore. All I think about is…her."

"I dunno, man. She might just rock your world. If you know what I mean." Embry winked.

Jake felt desire creeping in his veins. The girl shouldn't mess with him—shouldn't mess with the beast inside of him.

**Up Next: The Picnic- Bella decides to have a peaceful picnic on her lawn. Her meal for one ends up being a meal for two.**

**Please leave a review! :)**

**Hugs and Smooches,**

**Courtney**


	2. The Picnic

**A/N: So I was definitely shocked at the amount of reviews, favorites, and alerts I got on my previous chapter, and figured you guys deserved an extra quick update! It's a little short...  
**

**And remember: Jake's thoughts are _italics._ When Bella's writing, she'll write in underline.**

**Quileute Dictionary at the end of the chapter.**

**Chapter 2: The Picnic**

Bella laid the picnic blanket out on the grassy lawn, a few feet away from the cabin. She opened her picnic basket and lay out her sandwich along with a small jar of raspberry jelly, two water bottles, and a bag of potato chips.

Jake crept forward slowly, watching as she bit into her sandwich. He'd managed to escape from Embry for about an hour when Quil dragged him off to talk about his 'dear love' Claire.

For a split second Bella turned his way, causing him to jump cautiously behind the nearest oak tree.

"I kinda wish that guy would come back," she said to herself. "It's lonelier here than I thought it would be. I mean, jeez Bella, you're used to being crowded with people."

_I'm closer than you think, baby._

"Maybe I should get myself a cat. It would keep me company." Bella mused again before taking a bit out of her roast beef and lettuce sandwich. "No, forget that. I hate cats."

Jake watched her through the bushes. She pulled a small notepad and pen out of her basket and began scribbling. He squinted his eyes, trying to see what she was doing. She was writing.

She looked up, setting the notepad aside. She picked up her sandwich and unscrewed the cap of her water bottle. "Maybe I'll get a dog. I like those." She scribbled something down on her notepad.

Get a dog.

"Or a wolf." Bella blurted. Jake gave her a disgusted look through the trees. "The real-estate agent said there were plenty of those 'round here. Instead of shooting it, I could catch it and domesticate."

_You can domesticate me anytime you want, sweetheart._

Jake closed his eyes to some naughty visions of her getting 'freaky' in his bed. Her _domesticating _him. He groaned softly as he pushed his back up against the tree trunk.

"He was…attractive." He heard her say. His eyes snapped open at that comment, a lupine grin spreading like a disease over his face.

_Hit and homerun._

Jake knew he was attractive—the women on the Res practically threw their panties in his face when he walked by. But something about hearing Bella call him attractive was so much different than being called attractive by Leah, or any of the other local girls like Marie, Laura or Penny.

Bella went quiet—she'd heard something. She glanced towards the edge of the forest, a tall, dark figure seemingly watching her.

"Hey—what the hell?" Bella hissed, raising her small fists in anger. She stood up from her picnic blanket.

Jake, now caught, stepped out from behind the oak tree and put his hands up in an act of surrendering.

"Oh," she began. "It's just you." Her anger seemed to fly away once she saw his calm face.

He nodded slowly, averting his eyes from her face.

_Goddamn, you're beautiful._

"Did you want to sit?" Bella asked, motioning to her blanket. He didn't need to be asked twice about that. He'd just gotten off of his shift in patrolling the Res and his legs were tired. He situated himself at the far end of the blanket, a good three feet away from her. She looked offended that he sat so far away.

She blinked, shaking her head. "I, uh, have an extra water bottle. And here," She ripped open her bag of sour cream and onion potato chips and slid it his direction. "Have some chips."

_Well, damn._

She fished the water bottle out of her picnic basket and tossed it to him. He caught it, unscrewing the cap and sipping the water down easily. She stared in awe as he set the empty bottle aside.

"You seem real thirsty. You want my water too?" she offered. He shook his head, digging his hand into the chips.

"I've not seen you in a few days. I been lonely up here, just sitting around tryin' to think up some things to do. I've been painting, reading, writing, working on my dancing…"

She was lost for words as he gave her a real, genuine smile. She smiled back reflexively, her breath catching for a moment in shock at having elicited somewhat of a response from him.

"Were you watchin' me? You…you…" she spluttered. He shamefully nodded his head, thinking that he slipped up. She probably went back to thinking he was a 'creeper' again.

"Now, don't you jump to conclusions!" Bella laughed, her eyes sparkling. Jake couldn't help but return a smile. "I haven't danced since I was a little girl."

She uncapped the lid of the small jelly jar and delved her spoon into the soft substance. He quirked a brow—he'd never seen eat jelly…_straight up._

He found that amusement took the place of his uncertainty. He swore that she was the only woman that could lighten his mood in a matter of seconds. And the thing that scared him most was the fact that he'd only met her once, and he was already feeling like this.

"When I was little, my momma used to take me to these ballet classes down in Phoenix. That's where I used to live." Bella told him. "My parents are divorced and my dad moved here. I came down to Forks a few years ago, actually. Now that I'm out of High School, I'm free to roam around Forks and see what this place has to offer me. So far, I love it up here, living up in my little cabin and all. It's very nature oriented and peaceful."

He nodded, clinging onto her every word. Her history was actually interesting, when normally he wouldn't care at all.

"High School here was awful," she said. "I had more guy-friends than girl-friends. And I remember this one guy named Nathan that came after me like I was something to eat." She spooned some jelly into her mouth.

Jake's gut began to twist in knots, his forehead heating up again. _If anyone tries that now, their heads will be bent so far back up their ass so quick that they wouldn't even know what hit them._

"And then there was my ex-boyfriend Edward Cullen. He was an interesting guy, really sweet and nice until one day when I almost got assaulted by three drunk idiots." Bella looked up at him. Jake's temperature was heating up, and he could feel himself getting angrier.

_Assaulted? I'll kill those nasty fuckers—_

"When I told him I wanted to break up, he got real angry and started this huge fight with my best guy friend Mike. He thought we were having sex, but that's impossible because I'm still a virgin now and—"

She saw the surprised look on his face, his eyes widened and his mouth hanging slack. She blushed a deep crimson color, focusing her gaze on her food. "Sorry. Lost myself there. Guess you could say 'TMI'." Bella cursed under her breath, mentally hounding herself for telling him that she was a nineteen-year-old virgin.

He looked at her with his big brown eyes in a loving manner. His wolf howled inside of him, extremely pleased that she was pure. Now Jake knew that there was no keeping his wolf from wanting to mate with her. He couldn't stay away from her now. He would work at this girl until she gave in and begged for him.

They both let out a sigh. Bella ran a hand through her hair and gifted him with another beautiful smile. "So I told you mine," she began.

He looked down at the chips, grabbing a chip and stuffing it inside of his mouth. She gazed at him, thinking that she'd gone too far. "Just something to call you by. That's all I want."

He cleared his throat before glancing up at her and murmuring his name. "Jacob."

"Sorry, what? I didn't hear you." Bella scooted closer to get in hearing range.

"Jacob." He repeated, louder this time.

"Jacob?" she questioned.

"Jacob," he agreed.

She sat back down in her original position, stretching her legs out on the blanket. She scribbled something down on her pen and paper. He craned his neck, trying to see what she was writing.

Native Guy's name is Jacob, it said.

He sat back, shoveling another handful of chips into his mouth. She looked back at him. "Is it just Jacob? Do you…y'know, have a surname?"

"Black," he replied in a husky tone of voice. She scribbled his last name onto the paper.

"Neat-o," she quipped. "Do you live in that Quileute Reservation over there?" It was the inevitable, but she thought she'd ask anyways.

He nodded.

Lives in Quileute Reservation by the cabin

"Any nicknames you liked to be called?" she asked.

"Jake."

Likes to be called Jake, she wrote.

She couldn't express how happy she was that he'd actually talked to her. Though there were just one-word answers, they were answers nonetheless. It was a start. It was better than just nodding, smiling, and shaking his head.

"So, do you have any hobbies?" she asked. "Like my hobbies are reading, writing, dancing—"

He snorted, making her smile and flush in embarrassment. "Like I was saying, do you have any hobbies?"

"I lift weights. And I'm a mechanic," he said, all nervousness and hesitation fading with her smile. She scribbled them down on her notepad.

_Confidence is king…and so is talking._ He told himself.

"A mechanic? Thank God! My truck's been having problems and I haven't been able to get it all the way to the store without it failing on me. The last couple of times I went I had to walk the half hour to get there. Could you maybe take a look at it? Just name your price and I'll pay up." Bella clapped her hands in excitement.

To her dismay, Jacob shook his head.

"No? No, what? You won't fix my truck?"

"I'll fix your truck. You just don't have to pay me for it." He mentally slapped himself after his stupid gesture. A smile of relief flooded back onto her face.

"Oh, don't be silly. I'm a good, paying customer. I have a good job down town. Just tell me the cost."

Jake shook his head again. "Bella," he began. Her eyes widened when she heard her name roll off of his tongue. "I have plenty of money. It's on the house. I-It's my way of repaying you for not shooting me."

She laughed, tilting her head back towards the sun. He grinned, pleased with himself.

"Well, thank you."

"It's no problem," he replied.

"How about you come back around seven tomorrow?" she asked.

He nodded. "S'fine with me." She smiled and turned her head back to her lunch, shoveling out another spoonful of raspberry jelly.

[Jake?] Embry's voice echoed through his head. [Where are you, man? Sam's coming to look for you.]

_Shit. Shit, Embry stall him. I'm with her._

[Who, the Cabin girl?]

_Her name's Bella._

[Oh yeah. Ohhh, yeah! Getting inside those panties, huh, Black?]

_Shut up and just stall Sam. He can't see me with her._

[Alright. Just so you can jerk around with the pretty brunette Cabin girl. It's the first rule of manhood—stall people while your best friend fucks the shit out of a hot babe-]

_Embry! Fuck off, we're not having sex._

[Sorry to hear about it. Then what the hell do you want me to stall him for? What are you doing?]

_We're having lunch together._

[Oh, okay. See, there's the second rule of manhood—stall people while your best friend eats the shit out of the hot babe's refrigerator-]

_Fuck. Will you stall him for me? It's just so I can get out of here._

[Aw, sure man. Why didn't you just ask me that?]

"Hey, Jake?" Bella asked, putting down her water bottle. "You okay? You've been kinda silent for the past few minutes."

"Sorry, Bella," he apologized. "I've just been thinking, that's all."

[Are you leaving? Sam's at Black Bear creek, and he's phased.]

"I have to go," Jake finished, frantically wiping the chip crumbs off of his shirt. He looked at the trees around her house, searching for a large black wolf. He couldn't let Bella see that; she'd freak out. "I'll see you later."

Bella nodded, watching as he exited the forest. At least he didn't just disappear when she wasn't looking this time.

0o0o0o0o

"You're always off someplace, doing something, and I can never find you." Sam hissed. Jake averted his eyes so that his Alpha could put on his pants. "Where the hell this time?"

"I was patrolling," he answered.

"On your break? It was Paul's shift." Sam climbed the steps to his fiancée's house, throwing open the door.

"C'mon. You know Paul always needs some help." Jake reasoned.

"Did he ask you for help?"

"No."

Sam shook his head at him before greeting Emily with a kiss and a big, bear hug. Jake tried not to stare at Emily's scarred face because he knew how much it bugged Sam. He sat down on the table, fiddling with his thumbs.

"Ayasocha, Jake!" Emily greeted, setting the plate of fresh muffins on the table. "I heard you fainted."

Jake grabbed a muffin, biting into it. "Hachli, ho," he replied. Emily smiled, getting back to the kitchen to fish out more food.

Sam sat down next to him, making him sit straight up in his chair. "I can't believe you kept that from me for so long," the Alpha commented.

Jake's eyes widened as he sat up and stared at Sam in shock. "What are you talking about?"

"Did you really think Embry could keep his thoughts to himself, kid?" Sam replied, slapping him roughly on the back. Jake coughed, shutting his eyes in exasperation.

"Are you the only one who knows?" he asked.

Sam snorted. "The whole pack does now. Paul, Jared, Seth, Quil…even Leah."

"_Shit._" Jake said, covering his head in his hands.

Emily looked out the window, announcing that the pack had arrived. She set more muffins on the table, along with plastic cups and a pitcher of water.

"Jake!" they all cried, flooding into Emily's little house. They began slapping him on the back, congratulating him. They sat down at the table, tossing muffins to each other.

"Welcome to the imprint club," Jared welcomed him with a grin.

"Tell me you didn't imprint on a baby," Paul said, giving him a smug grin.

"Hey! Fuck you." Quil scowled, punching Paul's arm with the most force he could muster. Paul hissed, clutching his arm. He grabbed Quil, quickly putting him into a headlock.

"Boys!" Emily scolded. They broke apart instantly once they noticed Sam's 'you-better-listen-to-her-before-I-kick-your-ass' glare.

"Hey," Jake directed his attention towards Embry "Fuck you too."

Embry laughed. "Sorry, man. I passed the chick's cabin today and I couldn't help but think about what you said. It slipped."

"I don't know about you guys, but I gotta see this girl." Seth said. The others whooped in agreement. Jake looked at Sam for reassurance—he couldn't let them visit. He forbade it before; he'd forbid it again.

But Sam ignored him.

[She's a part of us now, Jake. You can't hide the imprint for long. Nor can you hide the fact that you're a wolf. She'll find out sooner or later.] Sam's voice rang through Jake's head.

He nodded up at Sam, swallowing the bundle of nerves he had bunched in his throat.

0o0o0o0o

**Quileute Dictionary**

**Ayasocha- **_**How are you? (directed to a male)**_

**Hachli, ho-**_**I'm good/well**_

**Up Next: The pack decides to take a visit to see Bella at her cabin, leading to a sticky situation. Later, Jake returns to fix her truck, as promised.  
**

**Please Review!**

**Hugs and Smooches,**

**Courtney**


	3. A Visit to See Cabin Girl

**A/N: Thanks so much for all of your kind reviews! You are all amazing! If I could, I would give every one of you a pie :D I wanted to get another chapter up. I absolutely love hearing all of this wonderful feedback and I'm kind of caught up in the moment. I will tell you that the more reviews I get, the faster a chapter will come! :)**

**Disclaimer: Yeah, I get that this if FF, but I'm still acknowledging that Steph owns mostly everything!**

**Bella's thoughts are italics! So are Jake's! And, this is not Beta'd so the mistakes are mine! :p**

**And yes, I did change the boys' hairstyles. Don't hate me, 'kay?**

**Chapter 3**

Bella was on her porch finishing her book _Pride and Prejudice_ when she heard the rustle of leaves and the snaps of twigs in the trees. She folded the page of the book, marking her spot. She eagerly stood, expecting her visitor to be Jacob again. She'd made blueberry pie and some fried chicken drumsticks for his next visit. Bella was always keen on hospitality.

To her surprise, it wasn't Jacob. But there _were_ five half naked guys in tight, faded jeans approaching her with stupid grins on their faces. Those quintet of half naked Native Americans looked like Jake. Bella guessed they were friends of his, maybe even family.

Bella sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. _God, I hope they don't rape me. I left my pepper-spray at Charlie's._

"Hey there," one of them spoke up. He was the lanky one with the chin length black hair parted down the middle. His hair was tucked behind his left ear, leaving the right side to swing free. "I'm Embry Call." His face was defined well, with that dimple in the chin that she so frequently obsessed about.

_Jake has one of those, _Bella mused.

"Paul Lahote," the taller, more muscular one said. He had short spiky black hair that was buzzed into a Mohawk. He seemed the most uptight (to Bella he seemed like some sort of hothead with a wild temper) to her when he gave her an inspecting look with his brooding, intense eyes.

"Quil Ateara," said a shorter, burly guy with soft brown eyes and a reassuring smile (that he was not, in fact, going to rape her) and cropped, curly hair. "Nice to meet you, darlin'."

Bella gave a weak smile. "I'm Seth Clearwater," a young boy chirped. He had the face of a little boy, but the body of an NFL football player.

"Jared Cameron, at your service," the last one said. He had chin length hair pulled back into a tiny ponytail at the back of his head. He too had kind brown eyes that seemed to laugh at her.

"Why so quiet, Cabin girl?" Embry cocked his head, a funny, yet cute look on his face. Bella glanced at hothead Paul who narrowed his eyes at her. She turned away, trying to keep her cool.

"Cabin girl?" she snorted. "What's that all about?"

"Ask Jake next time you see him," Jared replied, winking at her. Bella flushed a deep red color. All five boys laughed at her, seeing the flash of color that was rising in her cheeks.

_Walk it off, Bella. They probably just don't know your name._

She paced slowly on the cabin porch. "So, are you like his brothers or something" Bella asked.

"Naw," Quil spoke up. "We're his buddies."

"Oh," she said, that familiar red flush burning up her cheeks again.

_Don't make a fool of yourself in front of five, half naked guys. An opportunity like this only comes around once in a lifetime, you know._

"So, Cabin girl…you been hittin' it up with Jake?" Embry asked, his tone of voice low and seductive.

"By hitting up do you mean…_oh_," Realization struck her good and hard.

_Okay, Bella. Don't make it seem like you're some hopeless, inexperienced little virgin. Even though you are, don't make it seem like it. Idiot._

The boys laughed again, making her flush for the third time in a matter of five minutes. She shook her head helplessly and explained to them that she did _not _'hit it up' with Jake. They continued laughing, shoving each other around like five buffoons on crack. Bella stood on the porch, her eyebrows furrowed together in annoyance.

_Alright, this is beginning to get old. _

Just when she was about to tell them to get lost, Paul inhaled a huge breath, his eyes rolling back into his head. And then he spoke his first word to her that would change her feelings about him forever.

"_Fuck. _I smell food."

With that, he charged up the porch steps and swung the screen door open. He inhaled again, following his nose to her shiny new table. The other four kept on laughing at Paul's rudeness and her horrified expression.

They followed Paul inside the cabin, leaving a perplexed Bella to stand and think of what she got herself into. She hesitantly stepped into her cabin to see all five boys sitting at the table, looking at her with their big, chocolate eyes.

Bella raised her brows as she saw her freshly made blueberry pie and plate of chicken sitting on the table. She glanced at Paul, who gave her the sweetest pouty face she'd ever received. All because some pie and chicken. Her _pie_ and chicken.

She let out a defeated sigh. "Fine, eat it.

"Such a good girl."

"Thanks, Cabin girl!"

"Mmm, thanks babe."

"There we go, Cabin girl."

"Someone knows how to treat a man!"

She watched as they pigged out on her meal, splattering food all over each other. Paul dug into the blueberry pie with his _freaking_ hands, shoving mouthful after mouthful into his garbage disposal of a mouth.

In a matter of five minutes, the boys downed all of the food and slammed their fists on the table, demanding for more. She rummaged through her refrigerator and brought out some water bottles.

"Food, baby." Paul complained, looking at her with his sweet, hothead eyes. "She threw a jar of peanut butter onto the table along with some bread, cheese, and a container of strawberries. They devoured that in three minutes, barely giving Bella enough time to find more food to feed the savages. She threw her last bag of potato chips into the hustle, then her cheese-puffs.

_They're cleaning my freaking pantry!_ She mentally wailed.

"Come on, Cabin girl. More!" they cried.

She opened the refrigerator and threw in her last three jars of raspberry jelly. The boys opened up the jars, delving their fingers into her precious snack.

"Jesus fucking Christ, Paul. Could you eat like a normal human being and less like a donkey?" Jared laughed. He then mimicked Paul's eating habits, making Quil, Embry, and Seth burst into a fit of outrageous laughter.

"Hee-haw, I'm Jackass Paul!" taunted Jared. Hothead sat there with his face heating up like a sauna. Soon he was shaking so badly that Bella thought he was going to explode.

"Might wanna step back, Bella," Seth warned. She shook her head quickly and backed up against the refrigerator in fright.

Paul suddenly did the unexpected, launching a scoop of jelly across the table onto Jared's pretty face. He choked as a bit of jelly slipped down his unprepared throat. Hothead burst into laughter with the rest as Jared coughed, wiping the jelly from his eyes.

"You bastard," he growled, grabbing a handful of jelly from his jar and tossing it onto Paul's lap.

"Fuck!" he cursed, wiping himself off with a napkin. Bella watched in horror as jelly began flying across the table, splattering onto the boys. It got in their hair, their eyes, but never in their mouths where it was supposed to go.

She screeched in anger as jelly hit her new cabinets and the wooden walls. "Stains!" she cried, but no one paid any attention. Bella shook her head in defeat as a glob of jelly landed on her white tee shirt. "Stains…" she whispered.

"You're going down, Ateara!" cried Seth, shoving jelly into his ear. Quil cursed loudly and smacked the younger boy across the face with his jelly-filled hand.

Bella turned away, whimpering as her precious jelly was flung around the room.

"Eat this, you bitch!" Paul shoved jelly into Embry's laughing mouth, making him sputter and choke.

Jared launched jelly with his spoon, splattering it onto Bella's cream colored couch. Something inside of her just seemed to snap when she saw the jelly _stain _her new couch. _Stains._

"Whoa, hold up!" Bella snatched the jelly jars from their hands, and stole the spoons from Jared, Paul and Embry. "You made a freaking mess!"

"Sorry, baby. You want us to clean it up for you?" Paul asked, winking at her. Something told her that he was being sarcastic, but she didn't give a crap.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I would. And you can start with my couch." Bella rummaged around in the cleaning drawer and tossed Paul the stain-removed. He ogled the chemicals like it was some three headed monster.

"I didn't even throw jelly on your couch. It was Jared—" he protested, but Bella held her hand up.

"Yeah, but you were the one who started it in the first place," she pointed out.

"You're serious?" Paul asked.

"Oh, yes. Now get to work, _baby."_ Bella retorted, emphasizing Paul's vulgar nickname he'd given her. Taking the bottle in defeat, he went to work on removing the stain from her sofa cushions.

"Cabin girl's got nerve—I like her." Jared flashed a toothy grin her way.

"Yeah, no one's ever told Paul off like that," Quil began. "No one's ever gotten him to shut up that quick and listen, either. Maybe it's 'cause you're a girl."

Embry snorted, "Leah's hardly a girl." A chorus of laughter ensued.

"Hey, fuck off. Don't make fun of my sister." Seth intercepted, glaring at them. "Lee-Lee's been through a lot."

Bella ignored their bickering, walking around the table and handing them cleaning bottles. "Embry, you can clean my cabinets. Quil you can clean the floor, and Jared I'm assigning you to trash duty. And Seth, since you're the nice guy standing up for your sister like that, I'll give you the table."

"Yes!" Seth grinned and gave his friends an 'in-your-face' look.

In five minutes, her kitchen was spotless and her couch was stain-free. Bella, pleased with the progress, put the chemicals back in the cleaning drawer and watched them linger around, watching her with interest in their dark eyes.

"We should take a shower," Embry cut in. "I'm feeling sticky." With that, he started towards her bathroom. She caught him by the arm and tugged him back.

"What the hell?" Bella cried, cocking her head to the side. "Take a shower at your own house! It's not my fault you're sticky."

"C'mon, Cabin girl. We don't have showers at the Reservation. We have to dump buckets on our heads repeatedly and the water's never warm. It's always cold and dirty." Embry stuck out his bottom lip in a sorry attempt to make a pouty face.

Bella instantly softened. "Really? I mean, buckets? Cold, dirty water?"

"Yeah," Quil sighed. "It's terrible, isn't it?"

"Oh, I'd never survive." Bella mused aloud. After a few moments of thinking, she finally gave in. _Again. _God these boys would be the death of her. "Fine, but don't take too long. Five minutes!"

Embry delivered a sloppy, wet kiss to her cheek, missing her lips by literally a millimeter. "Thanks, cutie." Bella swatted him away in annoyance.

"What was that about?" Jared asked.

"I hate being kissed by random strangers that decide to come to my house and wreck it." Bella replied, blushing a bright red color.

The boys all took their turns in the shower for five minutes after they finished making fun of Bella. Paul was the last one out of the shower, the white towel wrapped around his midsection. Bella tried not to awkwardly gawk as he strolled out of the bathroom to stand right in front of her.

"I wanna give you a gift in return for the shower, Bella." Paul seductively whispered. Her brown eyes widened as he unfolded the front of her towel. Her hands flew up to cover her eyes as Paul revealed his _junk_ to her.

"Shit, Paul!" Bella gasped. "I barely know you and I already think you're a creep!" She whirled a pillow his direction, the pillow smacking him square in the face.

"Me-ow," Paul laughed along with the others as he folded his towel back up and walked back into the bathroom to put his jeans back on. Bella couldn't help but think how these were some of the good friends of the quiet, subtle man she'd met before. They were loud, rambunctious, and quite vulgar. Jake, on the other hand, seemed shy, sweet and sincere.

Bella was relieved when Jared announced that they should leave. They led her out onto the porch and swarmed her, peppering her with 'sarcastic' kisses. She'd told them earlier that she hated being kissed by random strangers.

She cringed when she felt their lips on her skin, trying to swat them away like pesky little flies. "Get the hell off of—" she was cut off by a pair of lips that folded themselves over hers, muffling her noise.

Paul was practically sucking her face. She pulled away, stumbling backwards into Seth's strong arms. "I got you, Bella." Seth was really the kind one out of the bunch.

She stepped forward and shoved Paul as hard as she could off of her porch. "Get out!" she hissed.

They swarmed her again, giving her their final kisses. Embry kissed her neck accidentally, making her burst out into a fit of laughter. "Alright, alright! Fuck off, you guys!" She watched as they stumbled down the stairs. "You guys are all sick perverts who eat all my food."

They laughing, stumbling away. Paul turned around and shot her a vulgar stare. "You're a fun little playmate, baby," he growled, licking his lips.

"You seemed to be enjoying me far too much," Bella growled, gesturing to the large tent in his pants. Paul grinned and cupped his impressive bulge in his head.

"You bet," he replied.

Bella flushed again. She watched as they left. She hoped that the next Native to visit her was Jake. And _only_ Jake.

"Goodbye!" she waved to them. They all waved back.

"We'll be back, baby!" Paul called out to her.

"Hell yeah!" Quil exclaimed. "You know how to treat a man right!"

"I think she's better than Emily. Emily would have never tolerated a food-fight." Embry poked out.

Jared smelled himself. "Damn. Kim's going to be pissed when she smells this shitty girl-body wash all over me," he complained.

"Good thing Claire doesn't care." Quil chirped.

"Good thing I don't have a fucking imprint," Paul cut in, followed by whoops in agreement from Seth and Embry.

"Yeah, I'll say," Seth said. "Jake was right—she is hot." They all glanced back at Bella on her porch, watching them leave with her dark, half-amused, half-angry eyes.

"Hey, back off. Jake's got D.I.B.S, remember?" Embry said. "That's his future wife, right there for ya."

"And I still can't believe she felt for that shower-thing. I mean, damn she's gullible."

0o0o0o0o

She was watching Titanic and drinking Iced Tea when she heard the sound of something loud and metallic drop on her concrete driveway. She reached for the remote, pausing the movie. She opened the screen door to see who was there, hoping and wishing that the _half naked quintet_ hadn't returned.

She smiled once she saw long, copper legs sticking out from underneath her truck. A bucket of tools sat in the grass as Jacob worked at her truck.

"Hey, you came!" she called to him. Jake dropped the wrench in shock, looking from underneath the truck at her slim figure.

He gave a weak smile, sliding himself out from beneath the truck. He wiped some of the oil onto his old khaki shorts and gazed at her intently.

"Why didn't you tell me you were here? I could have made something for us to eat. It _is_ close to dinnertime." Bella remarked.

"I wanted to get a head-start," Jake replied, pulling his hair back into a low ponytail so it wouldn't get in his eyes.

"Did you figure out what was wrong with ol' Bessie?"

Jake cocked his head in confusion.

"The truck," Bella clarified.

"Oh," he breathed. "Yeah. You had misfiring spark plugs…they're small but they're important. The plugs ignite the compressed fuel in an internal combustion engine. It was an easy fix, though."

"Good. Good, thank you! See, I don't speak truck so I never would have guessed that." Bella laughed.

Jake grinned back at her. Bella then caught sight of a shiny black motorcycle parked next to her truck. She nodded her head towards the bike. "Is that yours?" He nodded in response.

"You rode it here?

"Yeah."

Bella walked over to the motorcycle, running her fingers over the shiny surface, hot from the sunlight.

"Do you want a ride?" he blurted.

"Oh, it's okay. You don't have to do that—"

"I was done anyways. C'mon, Bella." He hopped onto the front of his Harley Davidson and motioned for her to take the seat behind him. Bella had never been on a motorcycle before and honestly, they scared the heebie-jeebies out of her. Maybe that was because she was nineteen and still didn't know how to ride a bike. She cautiously set her iced tea down onto the little wooden table by the porch.

She climbed onto the motorcycle, adjusting herself in the seat. Jake revved up the engine, taking Bella's hands and wrapping them around his waist. She was forced to press up against his massive body, making him growl deep in his throat. She felt the vibration when she laid his head on her back.

He cleared his throat, "Are you ready?"

"Guess so. Though I've never rode on a two-wheeled death machine…" Bella trailed off.

Jacob laughed. "Just hold onto me tightly, and you'll be fine." She tightened her grip on him. "Oh, and whatever you do," he began. "Don't let go."

Bella nodded her head and held onto him for dear life as he sped off down the road. She watched as trees flew by quickly. She grasped him tighter when they neared Charlie's house.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. My dad lives there, that's all." Bella remembered the fight that she'd gotten into with Charlie over her moving out into her own cabin. He didn't think she was ready, but she begged to differ. She thought that if she didn't get out now, she never would.

"You wanna stop by?" he asked.

"N-No," Bella replied, seeing Charlie's police car in the driveway.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Jake."

0o0o0o0o

They stopped in town to look around for a little while. Bella showed Jake some of her favorite places to shop, but he seemed to be quite interested in a shop called Victoria's Secret.

"What's the secret?" he'd asked her. Bella had just laughed at him, leading him inside.

"You'll find it."

Jake's jaw had dropped to the ground once he saw the rows and rows of lacy bras and panties, and the stylish lingerie section.

_At least she has good taste, _he'd thought with a smug grin.

She walked close to him on the street, clinging even closer to him when she noticed her high school friends walking down the sidewalk in front of her.

"Bella!" Jessica called, waving to her. She and Angela rushed to meet her. "Long time no see. Or talk. Or text. So yeah, where the _hell_ have you been, sister?"

She pulled Bella into one of her petite 'Jessica' hugs, her Bath and Body Works bag swinging in her hand. As Jessica pulled back, she caught sight of Bella's new companion. "Oh, I see," she said. "Ditching your best friends for this hot piece of ass is totally okay in my book."

"Jess!" Bella scolded. Jake turned crimson again, chuckling and shooting the other two girls his signature grins.

"What's your name?" Angela asked, a dreamy look in her eyes.

"Jacob Black. But you can call me Jake." He leaned into Bella, absentmindedly wrapping an arm around her waist. She looked up at him in shock but made no move to shy away from him.

Jessica leaned closer to Bella. "Where did you find him, Bella? The strip club? Because I would totally slip a couple hundred bucks in his thong if he shook those delicious hips of his for me." Jessica winked up at Jake, who raised his eyebrows in amusement.

"First of all, we're not in a relationship. And second of all, we have to go." She began to tug Jake down the street.

"It's okay, I understand," Jess called after her. "Like I said, girl, ditching your best friends for that hot piece of ass is totally okay in my book—"

"M'kay," Bella intercepted. "Bye Angela. Bye Jess." With that, she led Jake away from her high school friends.

"Oh my God, did you see his long hair?" She heard Jessica gossiping about him with Angela. "It totally made me horny. I need to find me a Native guy."

Bella gasped, glaring back at her laughing friends. She glanced up at Jake to see if he heard the same thing. By the look of sheer amusement on his face, she guessed he did as well.

"I'm sorry about my friends," Bella whispered her apology.

"S'fine. My friends are worse, I'll bet." He commented with a grin. Memories of earlier that day flooded Bella's mind.

"Yeah, you're friends are pretty inappropriate," she murmured.

He looked down at her with a puzzled expression. "You…you met them?"

"Yep, the whole crew. Paul, Jared, Embry, Quil and Seth. And by the way, what's with the nickname 'Cabin girl'? Am I being stereotyped?"

Jake seemed blinded by rage. He'd known all along that there was no stopping the idiots that were his friends from barging into Bella's life. "I'm gonna kick their asses. Every single one of 'em." Jake growled.

"They totally trashed my house, but I made them clean it up until it was spotless. And that Paul guy…he left quite an impression." Bella commented, blushing from the remembrance of all he'd done.

Jake whirled around, his eyes filled with fury, his teeth bared. She stopped in her tracks, backing away in fear. "What'd he do to you? Huh?"

"I—I, uh…um…"

"Shit. Shit, I'm so sorry, Bella." Jake apologized, his face falling from wrath to contrite.

She went to him, placing a reassuring hand on his muscled bicep. "It's okay," she said. "I've been through way worse."

"I'm still going to kick their asses," Jake growled, wrapping his arm around her waist once more.

Bella smiled, not expecting that move from him. He held her close, he held her tight. He made her feel safe and warm. She loved his touch. She loved when he was confident. Bella couldn't really understand what drew her to him so strongly. It was like some kind of bond formed between them the minute she laid eyes on him.

"I didn't tell you not to," she smirked back at him. Jake grinned.

_This one's a keeper._ They both thought.

**0o0o0o0o**

**Okay! That's the end of chapter 3, chapter 4 coming soon!**

**Please, please, please review!**

**Hugs and Smooches, **

**Courtney**

**Up Next: A Deal's a Deal-Bella invites Jake for dinner at her house. Hickory Nut pie, duck soup, and a thunderstorm ensue.**


	4. A Deal's a Deal

**A/N: Hello, my precious readers! I'm back with chapter number four because of all your kind reviews!**

**Not Beta'd, mistakes are mine. Sorry if I have a few mistakes here and there.**

**QUESTION: Would you guys want a soundtrack? If so, I'll include a song at the top of the next chapter.**

**Chapter 4:**

Jake parked the motorcycle beside Bella's old red truck. He helped her off so that she wouldn't get burned if she accidentally touched the hot motor. "Thank you," she murmured, placing her hands on his wide shoulders. "That was really fun."

Jacob nodded, releasing his hold on her once her feet touched the ground. Bella climbed onto her porch, looking back at him. His long, black hair blew in the wind, his dark eyes brooding with intensity. He raised an eyebrow, making his handsome features twist into a cute little expression of confusion.

Bella laughed a little. "I'm sorry…it's just…" She looked into his silent and unreadable eyes. He tilted his head, an asset or an inquiry, she couldn't tell. He just _looked_ at her with those eyes penetrating her skin, making her feel fidgety. He urged her to go on with the slight nod of his head.

She tugged at her fingers nervously. "It's just that you're…you're sort of beautiful," she blurted. She felt an invisible foot kick her in the ass once the words flowed out of her mouth. Out of all of the things that she could have said—handsome, brave, kind, attractive—she chose _beautiful._ Motherfucking _beautiful._

His eyes widened with shock and his hand went up to scratch the back of his head in slight embarrassment.

"God. I'm so sorry—my bluntness got ahead of me." Bella spewed out in a fast attempt to paint over the words that she stupidly let slip out. Jake lips quirked up.

Was he smiling at her?

Bella flushed a deep red color and shifted her weight onto the other leg. _He's the strong silent type._

Jacob looked out towards the sky, the moon slowly rising to take the sun's place. He peered out into the forest, trying to see if he could spot any of his pack members spying in on him. He shot Bella a sideways glance before beginning to trek back towards the forest before Sam would send a search party out for him.

"Wait! Jake, please don't go." Bella spluttered in shame. "I'm really sorry about what I said."

"Did you mean it?" he asked.

"Did I mean what I said?"

He turned around to look at her, nodding his head.

She frantically searched for words to say. She didn't want to say the wrong thing. The thing that would send him running off into the forest without a second glance back, or a word to her regard.

"Uh, y-yeah." Bella replied.

The corners of his lips tugged upwards, forming a smile. She felt a blush rising in her cheeks. He shook his head in disbelief, turning back to the woods. She freaked out inside—she _had _said the wrong thing.

"Jake, wait!" Bella called after him. She had him stopping in his tracks once more. His eyes darted back at her for a brief second, giving her time to speak. "I'll make you a deal, 'kay?"

He cocked his head. No one had ever made a 'deal' with him. He wasn't sure exactly where this was going, but he was interested enough to turn around and give her his full attention. He nodded in her direction.

Bella beamed in excitement. "Okay. Okay, look. If you'll agree to stick around and keep me company, I'll…I'll treat you to dinner, and you can pig out on anything that I have in my food pantry and my refrigerator. And since you fixed my truck for me, I can visit the grocery store and restock my cabin with food. Y'know, after your buddies trashed my house." She wanted to jump around in happiness at just at the thought of having Jacob Black over for dinner.

He sighed, nodding his head once more.

"Okay! A deal's a deal. You get some dinner and—"

"No," Jacob cut her off abruptly. He watched her eyes widen. "Not for the food. For_ you_."

Her mouth hung open in shock.

He chuckled and turned away, his loping stride taking him back into the depths of the forest.

0o0o0o0o

"Shit." Bella grumbled, struggling to carry the grocery bags up the steep, wooden stairs of her cabin. She'd just gotten home from the store, restocking on some of her favorite snacks; cheese-puffs, chips, soda-pop, cheese, ice cream, bread, a jar of grape jelly (because the fucking store didn't have raspberry in stock—what an outrage!) and more.

She swung the screen door wide open and set the grocery bags on the table, gradually unloading the items and storing them in the proper places. Now what was she going to make for her dinner with Jake. It had to be absolutely perfect. If only she knew what his favorite food was…

She was placing the ice cream in the freezer, the doorbell rang. She close the freezer door and strolled to the door, opening it. She didn't see anyone from where she was standing, so she stepped onto the porch, bumping into something cold and smelly.

Bella screamed so loudly that it made Jake jump in surprise, crashing loudly into a tree during his daring escape to sneak into the woods unseen and unnoticed.

She stared at the duck, dead and featherless. She touched the duck's belly, watching as it swung from the rafters of her porch roof. There was a note attached to the wing. She took it in her hands and opened it, reading Jacob's sloppy handwriting.

_Bella,_

_I caught this duck and thought I'd contribute to the dinner. You don't have to use it if you don't want to. I'll be find whatever you choose. Just thought I'd be nice…and thoughtful/_

_-Jake_

Bella climbed onto her wooden porch chair and reached to untie the string. She smiled out towards the forest, shouting a loud 'thank you' towards the trees. She was positive that he was still there watching her.

Jake smiled back at her, whispering a soft 'you're welcome' before returning to the Res.

She brought the dead duck inside of her cabin, and laid it on a few paper towels. She ran up to her bedroom and fished around in her closet for her mother's old cookbook that she'd taken from her home in Phoenix. The cookbook had been her good friend throughout the years that she'd lived with Charlie. That cookbook got her two more hours on her curfew in her junior year when she'd made Charlie's favorite, steak and cobbler.

She flipped the book open, looking for recipes with duck in them. She found a recipe that had appealed to her—roasted duck in honey-citrus glaze. Bella found her mouth watering with anticipation as she propped the cookbook up against the wall and prepared herself for some gory work.

0o0o0o0o

The doorbell rang at 6:30, just as Bella finished pouring the honey-citrus glaze over her freshly roasted duck. She set it on the table and shrugged off her oven mitts as she went to get the door.

"Hey, Jake," Bella greeted, opening the door. He looked around, taking in his surroundings. He'd never been inside of Bella's cabin. "Welcome to Bella Swan's little haven."

He nodded his head, his hands curling inside of his pockets. "That smells great," Jake remarked, tilting his head towards the steaming duck that cooled on the table.

"A deal's a deal," Bella grinned, fisting the bottom of her blue frock in nervousness. "I made it with the duck you caught me." He sat down at the table while she set two mugs of hot tea beside the plates. It was chilly out that night; the forecast had called for severe thunderstorms around seven o' clock. She'd cast some logs into her fireplace for extra warmth.

"So what's new with you?" Bella asked, dishing out him out a portion of the duck and handing it to him.

"Not much, I guess," he answered, stabbing the duck with his fork and slipping it in his mouth. "Been fixing a lot of cars, lifting weights, and patrolling the Res—"

_Shit, shit, shit. _He mentally cursed at his slip-up.

"Patrolling?" asked Bella, tilting her head.

"Uh, yeah. Patrolling. I, uh, belong to this group that, uh, helps protect the Reservation from dangers. Like bears…I'm kinda second rank from the top."

Bella nodded her head in understand. "You must be pretty important then, huh? You're kind of like my dad in a way. He's the chief policeman in Forks."

"Guess so," he replied, relieved that she didn't ask anymore questions.

"Neat-o." Jake smiled at Bella's little saying. She smiled back, trying not to laugh.

He turned back to his plate and devoured what was left of it. He hadn't realized how hungry he was. They ate in comfortable silence for a while until Jacob spoke up.

"Hey, Bells?"

She gasped, nearly choking on her sip of tea. "What did you call me?"

"Er, I called you Bells. It's—it's a nickname, y'know?"

She giggled. "I gathered that, Jake. It's just that my dad used to call me that…and I haven't heard it in a long time."

"Oh," he coughed. He remembered her telling him about the fight she'd gotten in with her father. "Sorry. I won't call you that again."

"No, no, it's okay. You can call me 'Bells', I won't mind. In fact, it's nice to hear that nickname again." She looked at his reddening face and tried to give him a smile of reassurance.

"M'kay."

"Bells is better than 'Cabin girl', I'll tell you that."

He snorted in response.

Bella picked up her empty plate and put in the sink to be washed later. "You done?" she asked. He nodded and handed her his empty plate as well. "You want some dessert, Mr. Black?"

He nodded his head. He could never pass up dessert. He watched Bella fish out a pie from her refrigerator. "What kind of pie is that?" he asked.

"It's hickory nut pie…you're allergic to nuts, aren't you?" Bella asked, placing her hands on her hips. She'd spent all afternoon collecting hickory nuts and cracking them open to make this damned pie.

"No, no. I've never tried hickory nut pie, though. Didn't know they made such a thing." Jake replied, letting Bella place his slice of pie in front of him.

"I bet. This is my grandmother's secret recipe. She gave it to me before she died five years ago. I've been making this ever since. Charlie loves my hickory nut pie. Hell, everyone does. I think you'll like it."

"I do," he replied, stuffing another forkful into his mouth.

"Back to that allergy topic, are you allergic to anything?"

Jake chewed on a hickory nut, thinking. _Leeches,_ was the first thought that came to his mind. He wasn't really allergic to anything. "Define_ allergic_," he said.

"Well, it's something that you can't stand to be around because you'll get sick—" she began.

"Cats."

"Cats?"

"Yeah."

She nodded her head. "I gotta write that down in my notebook," she thought aloud.

"Yeah Bells, why do you write in that notebook?" Jacob asked, licking the pie off of his lips.

Bella blushed a bright red color. "Well…you could say I'm a very forgetful person, Jake."

"I saw you writing down everything I said that one day where we picnicked on your lawn," he pointed out.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Aside from being a major klutz, I'm super-duper forgetful. Knowing me, I'd forget that you were allergic to cats and then go out and buy you one for your birthday, or something like that." Bella chuckled lightly. "Hell, I'd probably have Alzheimer's when I'm older."

"I'm not allergic to cats."

"You—"

"I just hate them, that's all."

"Oh." Bella fell silent, not knowing what to say next. "Me too."

He burst into laughter, making Bella's face redden. Aside from being a klutz, and a forgetful person, he made her feel like she was an idiot as well.

He calmed down, giving her his most beautiful smile that made her insides turn to mush.

"I have something for you." He spoke up, standing from his seat at the table walked to the coat rack. He rummaged around in his jacket for a short while before bringing out a small gift back. Bella did a mental-happy dance at the sight of a present. She felt like a kid on Christmas day.

He handed her the bag and watched with those dark, intense eyes as she pulled the jar out of the bag. The glass jar lay in her hands with only a thin cloth to cover the top. "You got me raspberry jelly!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck. "I could _kiss_ you!"

He stumbled backwards in shock, eventually regaining control of his balance. He didn't know what to think about her spontaneous hug, nor did he know what to do next. So he just did what his wolf was begging him to do, and hugged her back. It felt good, her body pressed up against his in such an intimate way. he ran his hands over her lower back, his heart rate speeding up.

"You're welcome, Bells." The scent of her filled his nostrils. Jacob swore that it was the sweetest perfume he'd ever smelt on a woman. Lavender and vanilla equaled purity and innocence in his mind.

She pulled out of his arms and peeled the cloth back from the lid. "Where did you get it?" she asked. "When I went to the grocery store, they said there were out of the raspberry flavor until next Monday."

"Actually, I didn't go to the grocery store," he told her. "There's a woman down at the Res that runs her own jelly-making and jarring place."

"What's her name?"

"Sandy Fisher," he said. "She doesn't usually make raspberry 'cause it's not a popular flavor. So I had to put in a special request for you."

Bella looked at him lovingly. Embry and Quil had always told him that the key to a woman's heart was through food. "Thank you! I'm going to have some right now." She grabbed herself a plopped herself down at the table. She dished out a spoonful and placed it between her lips.

"Holy Crow, Jake, this is amazing! It tastes so different from all of the jelly brands I've taste-tested. And I thought Smuckers was good, but it's not even remotely close to being as good as Sandy Fisher's…"

He listened to her ramble on about jelly and brands and which tasted the best. "Sandy uses honey rather than sugar," he told her.

"Well, that explains this rich, sticky texture I'm getting at. I love it."

"I'm glad you like it. I wasn't sure if you would." He sat down next to her, moving a stray piece of hair out of her eyes. She stared up at him, stunned by his sudden confidence.

"Why wouldn't I?" she asked, setting the jar on the table. She looked up at him in wonder.

"I dunno. That's just how my sisters are with almost all of the gifts I give her." He nervously glanced down at her.

"Well, I'm not you're sister, and I've loved every gift you gave me so far. From fixing my crappy truck, to giving me that delicious duck, and gifting me with my favorite raspberry jelly. And which I might add, is the best jelly I have ever tasted."

He flushed. Outside, they could hear a thunderstorm brewing. The light pitter-patter of the rain was heard as it fell against the cabin's roof. The rainfall gradually increased until it was pouring down none too gently. Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed across the sky.

"I think I should go—" he begun, but she cut him off.

"You know what, Jacob?" Bella said, halting his movement towards the door. By her tone, he thought she was angry with him for wanting to leave. But when he turned he found a smile upon her lips and sparkling eyes filled with mirth and adoration.

"Yeah, Bells?" he asked.

"You're unlike any guy I've ever met. On the outside you seem so…so bad-ass, y'know. You're a mechanic, you ride a motorcycle-a Harley freaking Davidson, you're second ranked in your awesome patrolling group, you're 6'7 and totally buff. And those eyes of yours…I bet the guys at my school would take one look at you and make a run for it. To them you'd like the kind of guy that could snap someone's neck by just glancing their way." She said.

Jacob frowned at her words. They made him feel like some kind of terrible monster. (Which he was, but she didn't know that yet.)

"But yet again," she continued. "A person's outside appearance is proved wrong. You're a gentleman—so different than what I'm used to. It's a change that I could grow very comfortable with…a change I could get used to for good. You treat me well, and you go out of your way to please me or buy me stuff that I want or need. I mean, I don't even have to ask you for things! It seems like you just have this _knowing_ of what I need. It scares me sometimes, but personally I think you and I make a kick-ass team.

"And then one minute you're shy, and the next you're bubbly and confident. You can make me smile so easily, and for a person like me, smiling is difficult. That is, if you know what I've been through." Bella said.

Jake nodded his head, absentmindedly tapping his fingers on the wooden table. "Yeah. When I first met you, I thought you were like all of the other outsider girls I'd ever met—slutty and thirsty for sex. I've tried dating an outside girl before but she just wanted me as a toy for her bed—like a fucking stuffed animal. I did everything for that bitch, but when I didn't give her what she wanted, she dumped my ass for a man-whore." His face heated up at the remembrance of his ex-girlfriend Nikki.

"But you seemed different than her. At first I thought you were some wilf girl that wanted to have massive parties and lure guys into your cathouse. But I was wrong about you, too. You're sensitive, loving, and caring. You're passionate about things…and you told me you liked books too. That's not something I hear everyday either." Jake winked at her.

Bella nodded her head slowly, spooning jelly into her mouth. "I'd choose books over looks any day."

"Then I guess it's a good thing you have both, huh?" Jacob said, inching his hand closer to hers on the table. Bella felt the heat rising in her cheeks when he complimented her. She wasn't used to that, either.

She leaned closer to him. She wanted to kiss him. She wanted to kiss him _so_ badly. Jake looked at her quivering lips, wanting the same thing that she did, if not more. But he wanted the kiss…and so much more than that kiss.

Thunder cracked across the sky so loudly that the vibrations swam through the cabin. Jacob bolted upright and crabbed his coat from the coat tree. "I have to go before my dad begins to worry," he said, whipping open the door. Needle rain was spat into his face, thunder blaring in his ears and lightning blinding his eyes.

"Holy Crow!" Bella exclaimed. "Jake, it's like, wicked out there! I don't want you to get struck by lightning or something. Here, why don't you crash her for the night? You can have the bed and I'll sleep on the couch."

"No," he replied. "I'm fine. I gotta get home." He made his daring escape out of her cabin.

"Jake!" Bella cried. "_Please._ Please, Jacob. Just stay the night. I can't stand to think of you getting hurt in this ugly storm. Just…_please_."

0o0o0o0o

Bella sat in her chair, sipping her hot tea. The rain was still pouring down, thunder rumbling angry, lightning flashing and lighting up the skies. Charlie had always told her that the thunder were the angels bowling up in the sky. And when the lightning flashed, it meant they got a strike.

She missed Charlie, and she would openly admit that. He was there for her throughout her high school years and her tough breakup with Edward Cullen. She missed their frequent trips to the diner to eat steak and cobbler and she missed hearing about her father's interesting day. Charlie had come home with all sorts of intriguing stories about robberies, murder mysteries, and trials.

She remembered one story in particular. A young girl mauled to death by some sort of giant animal. Of course she knew about that animal. The policemen knew nothing about the bite because they'd never seen that kind of bite before.

And the time when Charlie said a hiker spotted four massive wolves the size of bears roaming the forest. Charlie said that the didn't really believe the story, but he investigated anyways.

Her memories were cut short when he opened the bathroom door and came back into the room, his hair pulled back into a ponytail. She smiled at him, setting down her hot tea.

"I got you some blankets," she said, gesturing to the pile of blankets sitting on the couch. "Didn't want you to get too cold—you can freeze down here in Forks if you're not careful."

He smiled, spreading a blue blanket over the couch. "I called Billy."

"What'd he say?"

"Well, he doesn't have a choice in what I do, but he said that it was fine with him. He was just glad I let 'em know." Jake replied, lying down on the couch.

"Charlie would have been the same way, too. Except he would have gone nuts on me when I got home," Bella laughed.

He nodded, folding his arms over his masculine chest. He suddenly jolted upright, peeling off his shirt and thrusting it to the ground.

Bella's eyes widened. It was freezing in here—she wore a sweater and a blanket, and a pair of pink fuzzy slippers. "Aren't you cold, Jake?" she asked him.

"Nah," he replied. She raised her eyebrows, making him chuckle.

Bella glanced over at the clock—it was eleven o' clock at night, and she was tired. "One last chance for the bed, Mr. Black. My eyes are betraying me," she said, her eyelids drooping.

"You go," Jake said. "You have the bed. I'll have the couch. Don't you worry about a thing."

She grinned. "Alright, then. I'll see you in the morning."

Jake grunted in agreement. Bella walked up the stairs to her bedroom.

"Goodnight, Jake." She called down to him, flicking off her light.

"G'night, Bells."

0o0o0o0o

The next morning, when Bella woke up, she found that he wasn't there. The couch was tidied and the blankets were folded. There was even breakfast on the table for her. She expected to find a note, but there was nothing there for her. She also found that he'd washed her dishes from last night. Bella wasn't expecting that.

She waited for him the whole day. And the day after that. And the day after that, but he hadn't come. She felt rather lonely in her cabin, with no one to talk to. She even wished for the Half Naked Quintet to return to her house and make a mess of her cabinets just so she could have human contact. She knew this coming up here though. She didn't expect to be accompanied everyday by a handsome Native American man. She had her cabin built in the middle of a serene forest where she could be left alone, and have no human contact. Bella didn't know why she felt the need to have him around her. It was that sense of belonging that drew her to him. He understood her.

She'd turned to her last resort after running out of things to do-cleaning. She'd finished _Pride and Prejudice,_she'd watched Titanic and the rest of her movies, she'd written enough stories to satisfy her appetite for writing for ten years, and she danced until her legs felt like noodles. Bella pulled out the old vacuum and plugged it into the outlet on the wall. The engine roared up, filling with life immediately. It had been ages since she'd used Charlie's old vacuum.

She steered the vacuum around the kitchen and the sitting room, nearing the coat tree. She lifted it with one hand and moved it out of the way so that she could vacuum the carpet there. She ran the vacuum smoothly until she heard something crumble and flap in the vacuum's wind tunnel. She tugged what was left of the paper out. A corner had gotten ripped off, but it didn't effect what was on the paper. Bella stared at the paper in awe. It was a hand drawn picture of a girl with the signature 'JB' on the bottom. She knew who was on the paper-it was her. Bella knew who drew it-she knew those initials.

Each pencil stroke was so intricate and perfect; like someone had taken a picture of her and edited it into a hand drawn form. She tossed the vacuum aside, pulling the plug from the wall. Leaving the picture on her wooden coffee table, she went to her closet and searched out a picture frame. Once she found one that would suit her portrait, she slipped the picture inside and set the frame on the coffee table. She sighed, going to the window.

"I never knew that you could draw," she spoke towards the trees. "Yet again, there are probably a million things I don't know about you, Jacob Black."

**_Okay! What did you think? I know you guys don't read the A/N's, but I would really like to know if you want soundtracks…reply?_**

**Review if you like ;)**

**Hugs and Smooches,**

**Courtney**

**Up Next: Sticks and Fire- A bonfire in the backyard of his house, a kiss on the porch of hers.**


	5. Sticks and Fire

**A/N: I consider _"Wake" and "Wake 2" by Jason Ehleben_ a score for the story. Listen to it, it's amazing! Heard it on Pandora one night…I love you, Pandora.**

**Blab Labels is my bestie and she's my new editor! :p I finally got her to make a Fanfiction account!**

**Also, thank you for being so patient with me. I appreciate that a lot. I've just been so terribly busy with cheerleading and work and with school coming up in a few weeks, I haven't had much time for writing. I apologize for that, but I hope I make it up to you with this EXTRA long chapter!**

**Quileute Dictionary at the end of the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: SM's story and characters, bla bla bla…I don't own, but I wish I did!**

**Chapter 5:**

"I'm surprised you have this much self control," Quil remarked, leaning back in his chair. "By now, I would have been a complete mess. I respect that, man."

Jake lay limp in his bed with several bandages wrapped tightly around his injured arm. Inside, he _was_ a complete mess. He just had that special talent of being emotionless when the time was right. He couldn't show Quil how weak inside he was.

"How many days have you been away from her now, eh? Nine? I could have never stayed that long from Claire." Quil glanced over at him and thoughts of Bella instantly raced through Jake's mind.

"Stop that," Jake growled. Just seeing her in Quil's thoughts made his already tenuous self-control erode.

"Sorry," Quil replied. "I can't help thinking."

Jake hadn't been able to see Bella for over a week because of some stupid leech. They'd chased the sucker around for hours and once Jacob finally got close to the pale bitch, she's grabbed his arm and crushed every single bone inside of it. Jake's screams had torn through the forest as he'd phased back into his human form. And just as the leech was about to bite him, Sam's wolf pounced on her and tore her head clean off.

But lucky for him, being a werewolf had it's benefits; unnaturally fast healing. The broken bone in Jake's arm was completely healed and the only thing that was left was the slightly painful, slightly annoying buzz that lingered beneath his skin when he applied too much pressure to the area.

"Hey, man?" Quil asked.

Jake looked over at him in aggravation. He wasn't in the mood for anyone, much less his talkative best friend that fawned over his fifteen year old girlfriend every chance he got. "_What?"_ he hissed at him.

"Why don't you invite Bella to that bonfire tonight?" Quil suggested.

"She's not allowed to hear the pack legends," Jake protested, giving his friend a funny look. "C'mon Ateara, you know that."

"She's your imprint, dude," he replied. "She's going to need to know sooner or later. Let her figure out slowly, like I did with Claire. That way the realization that her boyfriend changes into a giant dog isn't such a big slap in the face, y'know?"

"Sure, sure."

0o0o0o0o

Bella gasped in shock as she heard someone knock at the door. She'd gotten out of the shower and was wearing nothing but a white towel. She peeked around the corner to see who was there. And sure enough, to her surprise and excitement, Jacob Black stood at her door wearing those tight, faded jean shorts and nothing else.

She considered him fair game. She swung open the front door when he wasn't looking, making him jump back in shock. Jake really had to make sure he wasn't dreaming when she stood before him wearing nothing but a skimpy towel.

"Er," he mumbled, unable to find his words.

She stared at him for a long moment, her big brown eyes sparkling. He stared back with the same amount of fervor. She suddenly rushed towards him, and threw her arms around his neck. "God, I missed you," she mumbled into his neck. He stumbled backwards due to the extra weight. She nuzzled her head into his chest, letting the towel slip slightly. A stretch of creamy white skin was shown to his hungry eyes.

_Well, fuck._

"I thought I did something wrong," she whispered, pulling away from him. "I thought something happened to you…like you left when I went to sleep. I kept thinking that I jinxed you and you actually did get struck by lightning."

Her demeanor changed when she looked up at his widened eyes. She huffed angrily, placing her hands on her hips. "You _idiot,_ why did you make me wait nine days to let me know that you were even alive?"

"I—"

"So what's new, Jake? Are you dead?" He smiled at her, making her blush. She watched his line of gaze trail down her body. She felt goosebumps prick up on her skin as a puff of cold air blasted her exposed, wet skin. "Seriously, what do you want? It's cold out here."

"I was wondering if you want to come to a Quileute bonfire with me." Jake blurted.

Bella was lost for words. Here she was, being rude to him whereas he was trying to be kind to her. "T-Tonight?" she questioned.

"Yeah. My dad's hosting it in our backyard."

"You're sure the others won't mind me on the Reservation?" Bella asked, unsure about this whole idea.

"Yeah," Jake replied. "My dad says you're welcome to come. Also, the people back home have been wanting to see this famous 'Cabin girl' that Embry, Seth and Paul always talks about."

"Embry, Seth and Paul talk about me?" Bella asked, flabbergasted. Well, Paul talking about her didn't surprise her at all.

Jake nodded, chuckling. "I, uh, think they all like you too much. I wouldn't blame them. You _do_ walk around practically naked without a flash of embarrassment." He smiled, gesturing to her appearance.

She flushed bright red. "Y-Yeah, I s-should get ready for this b-bonfire, huh?" she stuttered. "When is it?"

"It starts in fifteen minutes," he replied.

"Crap."

0o0o0o0o

"I really don't think I should be here. You said it was for your family and friends. Nobody knows me, Jake."

"Everybody knows you," he poked at her with a grin.

"Don't be daft, Jake! I'm sorta freaking out inside right now." Bella whimpered, clinging onto his arm. Jake winced from the pain.

"You're okay, honey," he assured her, rubbing her back warmly. She blushed a deep red color when he called her that nickname. "If you're going to hang around the Native Americans, I thought it would be good if you learned some history about us."

"History? The tribe's history? Isn't that a secret?" Bella inquired, stopping before she walked any further.

Before Jake could answer, Bella was ambushed by his idiotic group of friends.

"Cabin girl! I missed you, loca!" Embry cried, picking her up and twirling her around. She grasped him lightly to prevent herself from falling out of his grasp. The party instantly went silent at the sound of Embry's shouting. Jake stood watching with fire in his eyes as Embry wrapped his arm around her tiny waist. "Ayasochid, loca? I haven't seen you in a while."

"What?" Bella asked, not understanding his rambling in Quileute.

"How are you?" Embry repeated, catching himself. Bella looked back at Jake who was being pulled into a conversation with a bunch of squealing, giggling girls.

Sighing, she turned her attention back to Embry. "I'm fine," she smiled. "This is actually the first human contact I've gotten in over a week." Embry grinned down at her, leading her over to his group of friends.

"Well, look who's here!" Quil exclaimed, jumping up from his seat on the log to envelope her in a hug. He was warm. "I knew Jake would come to his senses."

"Hmm?"

"Nothing, darlin. Just glad you're here." He grinned a mischievous grin and pecked her on the cheek. Bella hissed in annoyance as the others laughed at her.

"We all know how much our Cabin girl loves kisses," Paul murmured, growling deep in his throat. He gave her a seductive stare, beckoning her to come over to him. Bella clung to Embry's side.

"Aw, don't scare her, asshole." Embry shot at Paul, who snorted in response.

She glanced back at Jake again, catching him glaring lethally at Embry and Paul while the three girls were trying to distract them with their large breasts.

A young girl came up to Quil and flung her arms around his neck. He picked her up excitedly and kissed her cheek sweetly. "Claire-bear! How are you, sweetheart?"

The young girl, who looked about thirteen to fifteen years old, kissed him on the nose and laughed.

"Aw," Bella fawned over Quil and Claire. "Is that your little sister, Quil?"

Bella had a funny way of making everyone laugh by doing the slightest things. Quil found himself blushing at her interpretation, but yet again she didn't know any better. She looked up at Embry in question, but he paid no mind to her.

"She's a family friend," Quil finally answered her. Bella could tell that he was embarrassed by what she said. But why?

"Did I say something to offend you?" she asked worriedly.

"Naw, Bella." He pulled her in for a hug. The girl named Claire joined the hug as well. Quil could have easily fooled Bella with the way he stared so lovingly at Claire. There was definitely a strong connection between them.

"Hi, Bella." Claire greeted, waving her hand sweetly.

"Hi, Claire," Bella replied, smiling in return.

"Claire, that's Jake's friend." Quil introduced her, clarifying her identity.

"Well, it's nice to meet you!" Claire quipped excitedly. "I always like meeting Jay-Jay's girls."

_Girls?_ Bella thought.

"Bells!" another voice called. She whirled around to a flustered Jacob. He'd just escaped from Penny, Marie and Laura when they were going to get some hot dogs.

"Hey," Bella greeted as Jake draped his arm around Bella's shoulders and pulled her close. He steered her away from the crowd.

She looked around to see who she could recognize at this party. She spotted Jared with his girlfriend, Kim. Bella noticed that they looked at each other they same way Claire and Quil did. She thought it was cute, but odd. Jared kissed Kim's cheek, watching as she giggled and kissed him back.

Kim wasn't ugly, but she wasn't a model either. Jared, on the other hand, could pass as a millionaire Hollywood star that had a secret job as the sexiest Calvin Klein underwear model.

Embry had migrated away from his group of noisy friends and was flirting shamelessly with a group of girls while Paul lumbered over to the snack table and stocked up on as much food as he could carry. Jake led her over to a tall oak tree, where his father and his sister sat.

"Bella, this is my dad." Jake introduced. She stuck out a hand for the man to shake.

"It's nice to finally meet this girl that everyone's been talking about. I hear you're acquainted with my son?" The old man in the black wheel chair smirked as he heard Jake hiss quietly in disapproval.

Bella blushed and nodded. "I guess so. He makes a good friend." Jake tightened his grip on her.

"I'm glad to hear that. Welcome to the Black residence, Bella." Billy replied.

Bella then caught sight of a beautiful Native American woman with long black hair braided into two French braids on either sides of her head. "Hi, Bella. I'm Rachel, Jake's older sister." Bella shook Rachel's hand, still admiring her Native American beauty.

"Jake's talked about you a lot. He's assured us that you weren't some party-goer that planned to wreck our little society here." Rachel winked and gave a genuine laugh, one that closely resembled Jake's. Bella blushed again, tucking a strand of loose hair behind her ear.

"Yeah, I came out here for a bit of peace. So far, it seems like a really nice place," she replied.

Rachel took Bella's hand and squeezed it tightly. "You haven't seen anything yet, Bella. Welcome to your first, authentic Quileute bonfire!"

"Thanks, Rachel." Bella watched as the young woman went to find her father, who had rolled away into the crowds of people while they were chatting.

"I'll see you around!" Rachel waved back at her little brother and Bella.

"You've got a nice family." Bella said to Jake, who merely nodded his head in thanks.

"Want a snack?" he put the question out into the open.

"Yeah, I'm a little hungry. I didn't think to eat dinner." Bella replied. He led her to the snack table. There were mini hot-dogs, baked beans, hamburgers, chips, fries, fruit salad and more. Bella grabbed her plate and eagerly filled it with a handful of chips.

"Jacob where the hell were you?" a female voice echoed in her ears. Bella turned around to see a beautiful, copper skinned woman with chin length black hair. She was tall and leggy like a model, and from what Bella could tell, angry.

"Leah, not now," Jake scowled at her.

_Oh, that's Leah Clearwater, _Bella realized.

"Yes, Jake. Now. You were supposed to take my shift last night, but you weren't there. I don't know where the hell you possibly could have been—you told Sam you were well enough to patrol. And thanks to you, I had to stay twice the time I should have stayed and Sue gave me hell for it because I was supposed to be home in time for her dinner party." Leah ranted.

"Leah, this is my bonfire and I don't want you wrecking with all of your bitching," Jake snapped. Bella snorted in the background—now that was harsh.

Leah's eyes widened, her fists clenching at her sides. "You are so goddamned inconsiderate, Black. I'm actually surprised that you haven't shown your little friend your true colors yet," she hissed, glancing Bella's way.

"I only show my fucking angry and inconsiderate true colors to you because you're the only one that can bring them out!" Jake loomed over her menacingly. "You have a funny way of making me into a jerk when I'm supposed to be enjoying myself. I didn't come here to fight."

Leah was a girl with guts; she didn't back down. "You're an asshole, you know that?" she hissed. Bella turned away, trying to ignore the scene unfolding before her eyes. She reached for an apple the same time as another person, their fingers colliding.

"I'm sorry," Bella apologized, stumbling back from the fruit. The young boy grabbed the apple and tossed it to her.

"It's fine. You can have it," he chirped. The boy smiled sweetly, looking up at her with his big brown eyes. "Hey," he pointed a finger in her direction. "Cabin girl?"

"Seth?"

"Yeah! How are you, Bella?" Seth greeted, pulling her in for a hug. The Quileutes were very friendly, as Bella could tell. Hugging seemed to be there favorite pastime.

"I'm fine," Bella meekly replied. Leah's shout echoed behind her. Seth winced, biting into a chip.

"And there's my sister," he said with slight shame. "She's over there arguing with Jake…you know him right?"

"Yeah, I came here with him."

Seth gazed at Jake with idolizing eyes. "I want to be just like him someday, Cabin girl. He gets all the babes on the Res."

"And that's your goal in life, right? To get all the babes?" Bella joked, stuffing her hands in her coat pockets. It was chilly that night.

"Definitely," Seth agreed, grinning a cute little grin. "But when the come after them waving their panties in the air, he ignores 'em. Turns 'em down instead of on, y'know? Says he's waiting for that one special girl to come along and rock his world." Seth sat down on a nearby log, and motioned for Bella to come and sit next to him.

She followed, sitting close to Seth. Heat radiated off of him, and Bella was salvaging as much of that as she could. "Did he find that one special girl yet?" she inquired, amused.

Seth bit his lip, deep in thought. After moments of passing awkward silence, he finally answered with the shrug of his shoulders. "Dunno," he lied. "He doesn't really tell anyone about his love life. Or anything at that…when his mother died, Jake kind of shut down in a way. He wouldn't let anyone in. Not even Billy."

"That's terrible," she gasped. "How did his mother die?"

"Car crash. Jake was only nine—it traumatized him." Seth replied, chewing his lip nervously.

"Wow," Bella said. "That's a long time to be…you know, be like that."

Seth nodded, folding his arms over his chest. "You know it, Cabin girl. But don't tell him that I told you anything. He'd rip my head off clean if he found out that I told you. Wouldn't wanna make him look like a marshmallow." Seth snorted. "Jake's not very friendly with girls, as you see. He says they'll turn him to a marshmallow."

Bella and Seth both glanced at Leah and Jake arguing. "And that they annoy him," he finished. "As you can see, Jacob and my sister don't get along very well." Bella watched as Leah shoved Jake back against the tree. He advanced on her as if he was going to hit her, but he made no move to.

"I can tell. Everyone's staring at them." It was true. Leah's shouting and fussing had attracted the ears of all of the elders as well as some of the curious passerbys.

"Spirits," Seth agreed, before he attention full blast onto her. "So…how old are you?"

"Nineteen," she replied. "And you?"

"Just turned sixteen," Seth said.

"Wow…_wow,_ you look like you're my age." Bella spoke in awe. Seth did have a cute, young face, but he had the body of a twenty year old. His arms bulged with muscle, as well as his chest. Not to mention he wore skin tight jean shorts and a dirty white wife-beater.

He rolled his shoulders forward and gave her a grin. "Yeah. I get that a lot. You could say it's a family gene."

"Amazing." Bella breathed. "When I was your age, people mistook me for an elementary school student." They both laughed. He was about to say something when Jake angrily stormed over to them and cut their conversation short.

"The bonfire's starting, Bells." Jake grumbled, glaring back at Leah with his lethal, brooding eyes. She let him drag he away from Seth who waved goodbye to her with a shy smile. She shot him an apologetic look before facing back towards Jacob.

Billy Black and two elders were sitting on the logs by the fire, watching as everyone gathered around to hear the bonfire story. Jake sat down next to Embry, leaving an open seat on the end of the log for Bella. Paul winked at her from two seats down, making her squirm uncomfortably.

When Billy began the story, Paul's eyes snapped away from her. Everyone seemed to be in a trance from the moment the first word came out of his lips.

0o0o0o0o

_The Quileutes have been a small tribe from the beginning. But we've always had magic in our blood. We were great spirit warriors, shape shifters that transformed into the power of the wolf. This enabled us to scare off our enemies and protect our tribe._

_One day our warriors came across a creature. It looked like a man, but it was hard as stone and cold as ice. The creature had attacked and killed a group of traveling women and children. The first warrior charged at the creature, but failed miserably. _

_But while the creature busied itself with killing the first spirit warrior, the second shape shifted into the powerful wolf and pounced on it. Our warrior's sharp teeth finally tore it apart, but only fire would completely destroy it._

_They lived in fear that the cold man was not alone…and they were right. The cold man's lover returned to the village to seek her mate, but to her dismay, found him to be dead. She took her vengeance out on the village. Our elder chief, Taha Aki, was the only spirit warrior left to save the ribe after his son was killed._

_Taha Aki's Third Wife saw that he was struggling with the cold woman. The cold woman was winning the fight, and the Third Wife knew that her husband would not last long against her. The Third Wife was no magical being with no special powers but one: courage._

_The Third Wife plunged her son's dagger through her stomach. The Third Woman's sacrifice distracted the cold woman long enough for Taha Aki to destroy her. She saved the tribe._

_Over time, our enemies have disappeared. But one would remain: cold ones. The warriors felt it when they were near, they could feel the threat in their blood. The legends of the spirit warriors will live on for eternity. We shall remember them as great heroes forevermore._

0o0o0o0o

"Was that story true?" she asked Jake. He looked down at her and sighed.

"We'll never know. That was centuries ago that that was said to happen." He swallowed and emotion that seemed to be nervousness from her perspective. "Even then, they're just legends."

Bella looked down at the grassy floor. "Yeah, I guess. But wouldn't it be cool to shape shift into a giant wolf? What if you were a shape shifter?"

Jacob froze at her words, his eyes going wide. Did she know something that she wasn't supposed to? "What are you getting at, Bells?" he asked, his eyebrows raised in confusion.

"N-Nothing! I just thought it would be cool to be a human by day and a wolf by night. Or something like that…" Bella looked down at her feet.

"Trust me, it's not _cool_," Jacob murmured softly, avoiding her gaze.

"What did you say?" she asked, not quite hearing him right.

"Er, nothing. Did you want a drink?" he covered quickly. Her face lit up instantly.

"Sure! Pepsi, please." Bella rubbed her chilled hands together, pulling the cuff of her sleeve down a little bit further.

"Be right back," he replied.

She looked around Jake's backyard for a moment, admiring the beautiful paper lanterns that hung from the tree branches and the little creek that cut through a quarter of their yard. There was a small, arched bridge for an accessible way to reach the other side.

The fire popped and crackled, sparks flying away on the chilly, nighttime current. She tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear and stared at Quil and Claire. He bounced her on his knee playfully. Claire giggled and kissed his cheek sweetly. Bella's eyes widened as Quil returned the kiss, but it landed smack-dab on her lips.

She didn't know what disgusted her more—the fact that Quil lied to her about Claire being his so-called 'family friend' or the realization that Claire didn't seem to mind at all when he kissed her passionately on the lips.

Bella blinked, shaking her head. She saw Jacob float from the snack table to Quil and Claire for a moment, tugging on the young girl's ponytail. "Uncle Jay!" she cried, throwing her arms around his neck. Bella watched as Jacob smiled at someone other than her for the first time since they'd arrived a half hour ago.

He waved goodbye to them before he walked back over to her with her drink in his hand. "Pepsi for the lady," he said, winking at her. Bella blushed, taking the cup into her hand.

"Thanks, _Uncle Jay,"_ she spoke. "You didn't tell me you had a niece."

"She's not my niece," he cut in, red painting his cheeks. "Claire and I are close, that's all.

"Claire's not just a _family friend_ is she?" Bella inquired, sipping on her soda. Jake glanced over at Quil, gulping.

"Well, you could say it's a little more than that"

"That's kind of sick," Bella grimaced. "Isn't she a little young for him?"

"You can't help who you love," Jake poked at her.

Bella nodded, watching the flames dance upon the burnt logs. By the snack table, three girls glared at her with their big, coal-black eyes. He followed her line of gaze in confusion. "Ignore them," he huffed and rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Are one of those girls your girlfriend? I saw you talking to them earlier." She could help but ask. Jake shot her a disgusted look.

"Don't kid with me." He said.

"So that's a no?"

"No, that's a _hell _no." Jake corrected. Bella snorted in response. She rubbed her hands together, trying to warm them.

"You're not very friendly with girls, are you?" she asked.

"No."

"I saw you argue with that girl Leah, and run away from those same three girls earlier." Bella commented, sipping her Pepsi. "But you're not rude to me. What's up with that?"

"You're different…" Jake reasoned, cocking his head to the side.

"How so?" Bella questioned.

Jake looked at the ground before glancing up at Bella. 'You're sensitive, and they're not. You care about books, and they care about looks, y'know? They want me for…sex…and you want me for companionship. Right?"

"Of course," Bella nodded her head vigorously. "You've been a real good companion…and hey, Jake?"

"Yeah?"

"Who's that?"

A young couple walked up to them, hand in hand. She'd never seen either of them. The woman was beautiful, but had a large imperfection on her face. Three claw marks traced from the top of her head to the bottom of her chin on the right side of her face. Bella inhaled sharply.

"Sam and Emily," Jake replied quickly, sitting up straighter. "Don't stare at Emily, Bells. It bugs Sam."

"Well, what happened to her—"

"I'll explain later, okay?"

The couple stopped in front of her and Jake. Sam nodded his head at her, greeting her. Bella gave a faint smile. He was just as intimidating as Jake, if not more. This man could have probably been close to seven foot and weighed over two hundred fifty pounds of pure muscle.

"Hello, Bella." Sam said.

Bella smiled and stuck out her hand for him to shake.

"Hi, Bella. We've heard so much about you." Emily said, smiling. She clung onto Sam as if he were her rope and if she let go she'd fall into a pool of molten lava.

She nodded, looking up at Jake, who kept a hard smile plastered onto his face.

0o0o0o0o

[She's attractive, Jake. I gotta give you that.]

_Thanks…I guess._

[You ashamed?]

_Spirits. No, I'm not ashamed._

[You're acting like it.]

_Just stop, because I'm not—_

[Ah, ah. Keep smiling, Casanova. Don't wanna upset your pretty lady.]

_I really hate you sometimes, Sam._

[Tell that to me later when you have double shift.]

_Sorry._

[It's fine. Nice figure too. She's got childbearing hips, unlike sweet Em.]

_You comparing Bells to Em?_

[No, no, no. I'm just saying that when Bella carries your children, she'll harbor a strong baby with the wolf gene. She'll be able to handle a little were-puppy. Emily's just more petite—you know how I worry about her.]

_Why are we talking about kids? I'm only eighteen._

[S'always good to plan ahead.]

_Maybe for you, Mr. 'I'm-Almost-30-Years-Old."_

0o0o0o0o

"I'm surprised I never saw you at the grocery store," Emily remarked, her eyes sparkling. "You know, I think I'm one of the only people on the Res that takes the time to drive out to the store."

"Well, we'll have to meet up one day…in the grocery store!" Bella laughed with Emily.

_Aww. Sam…look at them. They're going to be such great friends…my Bells and your Em._

[Marshmallow.]

_Fuck._

"What's so funny, you two?" Emily nudged Sam in the side. Sam covered his mouth with his hand as Jacob began to get beat red in the face. Bella lightly touched Jake's arm, his face reddening further, if that was even possible, when she started rubbing his hot flesh.

"Holy Crow, Jake! You're hot!" Bella exclaimed, his heated skin nearly burning her fingertips.

Sam burst into laughter, making Emily giggle in shock. "Sam, are you okay?" she asked, laughing. "You never laugh like this!"

_Stop picking through my brain, asshole. _

[You're hilarious, you know that? Cleaning her dishes, folding her blankets, and tidying her house…]

_I can't help it! She's my imprint. I…I have to._

[S'okay. You're just a hypocrite, marshmallow.]

Sam snorted, covering his eyes.

[Marshmallow!] Seth chimed in.

[Softie,] Quil laughed.

[Girl!] Jared snickered.

[Pussy.] grunted Paul in agreement.

Jake heard the others laughing inside of his head.

"Why are you so hot?" Bella asked, running her fingers down his biceps, sending chills down his spine and flaming heat to his groin. "Are you normally this hot?"

[He's aroused!] Quil exclaimed. [Let's get ready to rumble…]

Jake tried to push the pack thoughts out of his mind. "All the time," he smirked, grinning. Bella blushed, feeling Emily and Sam's eyes on her.

"No," she gasped, unbelieving. "You're normally this hot? Hot all the time?"

"Ohhh, definitely." Jake nodded.

"Well…we'll leave you two." Emily winked at Bella. "Have a good one, guys!"

"Bye Emily!" Bella waved.

0o0o0o0o

"I had a lot of fun tonight," Bella said, climbing the stairs to her porch. It was late, and Bella had been feeling tired towards the end of the bonfire. Jacob had driven her home on the back of his Harley Davidson after she was done socializing with all of Jacob's friends.

Jacob was someone that she could get used to—someone that was quick to meet her every need and wish, someone who respected her. Someone that kept her company. Someone that she could love with the whole of her heart.

"There'll be another bonfire coming up soon," Jake said, scratching the back of his head nervously. "I'll take you if you want."

"That would be great!" Bella smiled at him.

"I'll drive you to the next one, if you want. It was…fun having you there with me."

Bella leaned up against her screen door, her face flushed bright red. "Can I…" she trailed off, unsure of what he would think. "No, it's stupid."

"Tell me. I promise I'll give you anything you want," he said. Bella was shocked at his words. He was so sincere.

"Canikissyou?" she blurted.

Jake's eyes widened. "What?"

"Can…can I kiss you?" She thought she'd said the wrong thing. He turned away towards the forest, his chest heaving with every breath he took. She could practically see the stream rolling off of his body.

"You know what, I'm sorry I even said anything. I take it back—"

She was cut off when his lips landed on hers. She stumbled backwards against the door of her cabin. When Bella asked him for a kiss, she was thinking of a chaste kiss on his cheek in thanks for all he'd done for her, and then a shy entrance into her house. Not this. Not that she cared, though…

His lips moved strategically against hers. Her hands reflexively wrapped around his neck, and he mistook the small action as passion. Threading his fingers into her hair, he deepened the kiss.

She moaned softly, pressing her body up against his. Jake forced her mouth open and slipped his tongue inside. Their tongues tangoed and battled for dominance, their lips locked together in one powerful kiss.

Bella suddenly broke away for air. He laid his head on her shoulder before standing back to look at her. Hair in disarray, her shirt wrinkled, and her lips swollen and glossy from their previous encounter.

_Spirits, she looks so beautiful._ To Jacob, she looked like she'd just come out of a passionate, exhausting sexual romp with him, and just the thought turned him on entirely.

Her eyes trailed down to the impressive bulge in his jeans, and it made her blush a bright shade of red. Her chest heaved, her breasts practically being served to him.

He knew that if he didn't leave right at that very moment, he'd grab her and fuck her on the spot.

"I gotta go." Jake said quickly, practically running off of her porch.

"Jake—wait, don't go!" Bella called after him, smoothing down her hair.

"Look…I'll see ya tomorrow." He mumbled, revving up the engine to his motorcycle. In the blink of an eye, he was speeding down her driveway into the night.

The erection in straining in his jeans was undeniably painful. He knew that this night would end the same way as every one usually did ever since he met her—his mind filled with her images, and his fist tight around his cock.

**0o0o0o0o**

**Quileute Dictionary**

**Ayasocha: How are you?**

**Loca: Crazy girl**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Please review!**

**Hugs and Smooches,**

**Courtney**

**Up Next: Hair- Bella gives Jacob a haircut…and something else.**


	6. Hair

**A/N: Sorry it took so long to update. Been really busy with family lately. This chapter is a start for Bella and Jake, a little snippet of what's to come! Enjoy.**

**Remember that this story is completely AU and I make the characters how I want to. Sorry if that upsets you? If it does, kindly tell me in the review box or PM me.**

**Chapter 6:**

Bella set her yogurt down on the table, jumping up eagerly to answer the door. It was nine o' clock the next night and Jacob hadn't come to visit her. He'd made it a daily routine to visit her, to make time in his busy schedule to see her pretty face. Bella honestly didn't think she'd have the time to talk to him any more that night, but she was apparently wrong.

"Jake!" she greeted, smiling brightly. "I didn't think you'd come."

She really didn't think he'd come, either. After the way he darted off of her porch after they'd kissed, it made her wonder if she repulsed him…or if she did something wrong.

He pushed past her into the cabin. "I said I would," he replied gruffly. He instantly made his way to her wooden table where he sat down, seemingly exhausted. "I'm a man of his word."

Bella chuckled, walking over to where he sat. "You want something to eat?" she questioned. "I got some more chips. You liked those last time, right?" Jake nodded his head as she set the new bag of potato chips on the table. He ripped it open and stuffed his hand inside.

"Tea?" she offered. He looked at her momentarily as if weighing his choices. He finally nodded his head in agreement. Bella grabbed two mugs from her cupboard and began to heat up a pot of water. "You can always count on me for some good food, huh? Whenever you're feelin' hungry, stop on over at Cabin girl's and she'll let you eat out her refrigerator."

He laughed softly, crunching on the chips. Bella poured the hot water into the mugs and dipped the tea bags into them. "You look winded. Did you just get off your patrol?" she asked.

Jacob had forgotten that he'd told her about his 'patrolling group' on the Res. He nodded again. It was technically true—he'd just gotten off of his shift, and he'd chased another filthy bloodsucker off of their lands. Jake had tried so hard to get that leech, but the vampire was fast—much too fast for him. The vamp had led all of the pack members on a wild goose chase, marking trees with its scent and steering the wolves this way and that.

She handed him his tea and sat down across from him. He bent down to sip his tea, his hair falling in his eyes. Bella noticed that he had knots and sticks in leaves in his normally beautiful hair. Jake, looking rather irritated, pushed his hair out of his eyes.

"Does your hair bother you?" she gestured to his messy head. "I could cut it for you if you wanted."

He suddenly grew very still, and she felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment. Did she say the wrong thing again? She flapped her hands, literally _flapped_ them in nervousness. "I…I mean, I'm not suggestin' that you should cut your hair or nothing, 'cause personally I love your style—it's kinda hot. It just looked like it was bothering you, that's all—"

"Yeah," he grunted.

"I…really? You're serious?" she smiled back at him.

"Yeah. I only kept my hair like this because Billy didn't think I should cut it like the other guys had." Jake set down his mug of tea, giving her an intense gaze. "But if he's not here, I don't think he'll care, mmm?"

"Oh, okay. And I'm not inexperienced either. I used to give my cousins back in Phoenix haircuts all the time. My uncle Bob really liked it when I cut his hair. Said I was better than the hairdresser herself." She wiped her hands on her blue jeans and went to fish the scissors and comb out of the drawer.

"We doin' it now?" he asked.

"Whenever you want to, I'll be ready." Bella replied.

"Now's a good time, then."

She nodded, running her thumb over the smooth edge of the comb. "Y'know, it's easier if your hair's wet."

He stood and followed her into the bathroom. Bella pulled up the bathroom stool and allowed him to sit and position his head into the bathroom sink. He shot her a look that threatened a water fight if she got out of hand with the spigot. She turned the handle and let the cool water rush out onto his midnight black hair.

She laid out her scissors and comb on the side counter while her other hand busied itself with picking out the sticks and leaves from his tangled mess of hair. He looked up at her in question. Bella just smiled down at him reassuringly.

She grabbed a towel from the bathroom closed and handed it to him. He straightened out his back, rubbing the towel of his hair. Then he shook his head like a wet dog, making water droplets fly onto her clothes. "Down, boy!" she giggled. He winked at her and shot her a flashy grin.

She laid the towel over his shoulders, smoothing out the wrinkles and creases. "Anything specific that you wanted?" she asked him. He shrugged in return.

"Dunno. Something a bit longer than a buzz cut, though."

"Okay. How 'bout an ivy league? It's not too long, not too short. It'd be perfect for you, Jake." Bella readied herself, scissors in one hand, comb in the other.

"Yeah. That," he nodded.

She was nervous, but relaxed into the task surprisingly well. She made a clean cut across his long hair near the top of his neck, watching as his locks of beautiful hair fell freely into her hands. She tossed them into the trashcan nearby. As his hair began to get shorter and shorter, she used her fingers to hold the hair in place and trim along the edges.

She concentrated on making him look his absolute best. The feel of his soft, wet hair in her hands was completely sensual. She listened to his quiet breathing, the sound of the rain falling softly on the windowsill, and the soft _snip _of the scissors.

She removed the towel, letting the excess hair fall onto the floor. He stood from the stool, glancing into the mirror at her work. She stood close to him, feeling hopeful. He lifted a muscled arm, fingering through his new hairstyle. He'd never seen his hair this short before.

Jacob was lulled into a state of pleasant lassitude when the scent of lavender and vanilla floated past his nose. The nervousness in her scent had faded away once he smiled warmly at her.

"Wow," he remarked. "You did a good job."

"You really like it?"

"Yeah," he replied. She smiled at him, taking her bottom lip between her pearly white teeth. He enjoyed her company—she didn't seem to mind when his words got tangled up in an ever-present whirlpool of mind-block. She didn't seem to lust after him like a woman in heat, pawing at him, begging to be taken home and ravaged. Those women weren't respectable.

Bella was respectable, and much more. At the same time he reviled their touch, shrugging himself free of their grasping hands. She was the opposite of all of those women.

Bella Swan was all gentle, hesitant touches whereas the others groped him and shot him carnal stares—_savage. _And yet through all of Bella's blabbing and clumsy ways, she was the most erotic little thing he'd ever met. What he felt for her was so much deeper—a slow, fevered burn aching in his loins.

He took a deep breath, trying to get his feelings under control. He wondered why he was so shy with her.

_It's because she can do things to you that no one else can,_ he thought.

She was all he needed.

Bella stood behind him, her hot breath blowing extra snippets of hair off of his bare neck. Jacob shuddered as she absentmindedly ran her fingers over the flexed muscles in his back, tracing each curve and bump. The way she touched him with tenderness and sincere care seemed to feed some craving he had locked up inside of him.

He didn't crave sex. He craved affection, her attention…

Jacob Black, the strong, courageous Beta wolf of the pack, wanted to be _loved _and kissed, caressed, held in those beautiful arms of hers…

Even as his mind wandered off into delicious space, visions of him pushing her back against the wall and tasting her lips once more, to come in contact with her soft skin invaded his thoughts.

"Thanks." It was barely a whisper as he turned to her, his brooding eyes seeking hers.

"It's no problem," she replied, laying her head on his shoulder. She noticed his surprised look, and pulled away quickly.

He grabbed her wrist and tugged her into his arms quickly. She relaxed into his embrace, resting her head on his chest. He longed to slide his hand down the front of her jeans and slip his long fingers into her slick entrance. He longed to look down at her face as he pleasured her. He longed to feel her cum on his fingers, to scream his name—

_Dirty bastard, _he thought.

He followed her out of the bathroom to the sitting room. She lounged on the couch, patting the open seat next o her. He obliged, sitting oddly close to her. She felt his heated thigh press up against hers. She felt that his flesh was hotter than the fireplace in front of them.

Jacob caught sight of something in a picture frame sitting on her coffee table. "Where'd you get that?" he pointed to the drawing. She followed his line of gaze, eventually seeing what he meant.

"I was cleaning, and I, uh, found this by the coat tree. I really liked it so I framed it and put it on my coffee table." Bella glanced over at him. He was eerily silent, his eyes locked on the portrait.

"Did you draw that, Jacob?" she questioned.

He nodded, bringing his eyes away from the picture. Bella picked up the frame and looked at it again. "You're brilliant. _This _is brilliant. You never told me that you could draw."

"Didn't think it was important," he replied, scratching the back of his now-bared neck. His new hairstyle would take some getting used to.

"Not important? I spilled my guys out to you, even admitted to you that I was a horrid dancer, and you don't have the decency to tell me you're the next Da Vinci? I mean, this portrait could be _The Bella Lisa!_" she threw her hands up in frustration.

Jake laughed, standing and pacing in front of the fire. "I don't think I'm that good."

"You hush," she scolded with a smile. She stretched herself out on the couch and propped her head up on a pillow. "Come on, Jack. I want you to draw me like one of your French girls."

Jake blushed a deep crimson color at the thought of the Titanic scene. He'd seen his older sisters watch that movie about a thousand times and fawn over that same scene for ages.

"Do you want it back?" Bella asked softly.

"No. You keep it." Jake replied, coming to stand in front of her.

"I'll treasure it. You did me justice in that little picture," she flashed him a smile. He took his place at her side once more, laying his massive hand over her knee.

"No one's really appreciated my work this much." Jake remarked.

"I do," Bella said. "No one's been such a good listener like you. Most people ignore me because they say I talk too much. But with you, I feel like I can talk and talk to you and you'll listen."

"Yeah," he replied, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

Bella stared into the fire, watching the flames dance amongst the logs. He looked down at her from where he stood and licked his dry lips. "Can I ask you something?" she asked him quietly.

He sat down on the sofa once more, giving her his full attention. She sat up from her horizontal position and stared him straight in the eye. "That kiss that you gave me after you dropped me off here…did you think it was a mistake?"

Jake blinked, unsure of what to say to her. He lowered his gaze, not daring to open his mouth.

"You dropped me off on the porch, gave me this _mind-blowing_ kiss, and then leave me there feeling like I did something completely wrong…" Bella began. "I can't read you as well as I could read my previous boyfriend. You're jerking my feelings this way and that, and honestly, I really don't know what to do about it."

Jacob sighed desolately. "M'sorry."

"No!" Bella cried, moving closer to him. "No, don't be sorry. I like you, Jake. I haven't had this much human contact in a while. After I split with Edward, my ex, I kind of shut down in a way and stopped dating people after such a bad experience. I didn't want it to happen again…"

"It won't." Jake said.

Bella sighed. "But let me tell you that there's something way different about you that captured my interest, and I can't quite put my finger on it. And you can't lie to me and say that you don't feel the same way, because if you didn't like me, then you never would have kissed me—"

"I never said I didn't like you," Jake replied, cutting her off quickly. "I said nothing of the sort."

Bella silenced herself, her big brown eyes growing larger. He advanced on her, making her lean back onto the pillows until he was over top of her.

"I admit that I shouldn't have run off like that. It was rude of me, and honestly I wish I never did," he murmured in her ear. "I still wonder what could have happened if I would have stayed…kept kissing you like that…"

She looked up at him, her eyelashes fluttering. A bright red blush painted her cheeks. Reaching up, she ran her hands through his cropped hair, commenting that she loved his new look. He smiled in return.

"Bells?" he began

"Yeah?"

"Can I kiss _you_?"

"Yeah."

He captured her lips, his tongue tracing her bottom lip. She barely held back a loud moan, feeling utterly wanton, thinking of nothing that moment but Jake, and those copper toned hands, and what he could possibly do to her. He trailed his lips down her jaw to her neck.

Bella arched her back, baring herself for his easy access. It was wonderful, the way his lips moved so perfectly against her skin, his strong arms gripping her tiny waist.

Something Jake did that moment triggered a powerful reaction in her that left her wanting more, needing more.

His hands grasped at her desperately, her fingers tangled into his cropped black hair. The little kiss that they shared quickly turned into a battle for dominance. Her tongue danced around his, and he moaned loudly, the sound of it echoing through her ears. Bella moaned just as loudly when he gently sucked her bottom lip into his mouth.

He slid his knee between her legs, making her gasp loudly in surprise. Shockwaves of pleasure electrocuted through her core, making hot liquid gush out of her open legs. He rubbed his knee against her clit, making her throw her head back in pleasure.

"You like that, honey?" he whispered seductively, nibbling on her earlobe.

"Uh huh…"

He moved his knee in a circular motion, making her hips buck up reflexively. The scent of her arousal was more pungent than ever—she was on the brink of her climax.

"Tell me what you want." He said, kissing his way down her neck to the tops of her breasts.

"I wanna…" she trailed off when another wave of pleasure flooded her, more liquid fire dampening her panties.

"Say it," he growled, moving his knee faster. She gasped, her eyes rolling back into her head.

"I wanna…I…"

"Tell me, sweetheart. Say it out loud." He said, grinding his knee against her.

"I wanna cum," she whispered.

"Louder," he growled.

"I wanna _cum,_" she cried.

"Beg for it. Scream it." Jake instructed, his eyes blackening with arousal and lust. His wolf was taking over his senses.

"Jake, _please!_ I wanna CUM!" she screamed, grasping at his shoulders, her breath coming in frantic little pants.

He removed his knee and laid his hand over her soft mound, feeling the wetness seep through her jeans. He quickly stroked her up and down in a fast motion, making her cry out in her orgasm.

"_Jake!"_ she screamed.

He came as well, the sight of her being pleasured driving him over the edge.

"Fuck," he groaned, and yanked her from her position on the couch until she straddled his waist. Her head collapsed on his shoulder, still unbelieving of what just happened.

[Come to Emily's.] Sam's voice echoed in his head.

_Later I will. _

[Now, Jacob.]

Jake couldn't disobey the Alpha's orders.

"Honey?" he asked. Bella lifted her head, tendrils of hair clinging to her sweaty skin.

"I have to go." She rolled off of him, lying limply against the sofa cushions.

Pouting, "You always leave so soon."

Jake softened, arranging himself in his pants. "I know, honey. I'll be back tomorrow. I promise."

"Okay," she felt her southern regions flaming up with heat once more as she stood to follow him out the door. Before he stomped down the porch, he turned on his heel and smacked a kiss to her lips.

"Damn it, Bells. I think you've stolen something of mine." Jake began, resting his forehead against hers. He was confident tonight, and she could tell.

_He was so hot when he got kinky… _Bella thought.

"And what did I steal?" she asked in her most innocent tone of voice.

Smiling, he answered, "My heart." He watched as her eyes widened in shock. She blinked, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Do you want it back?" Bella asked softly.

"No. You keep it."

With that, Jacob Black turned and disappeared into the night. Bella, chest still heaving from the previous encounter, went to bed with her heart in her throat.

0o0o0o0o

"Nice haircut," Sam commented, chewing on his cigar.

Jake ran a hand through his newly cropped hair, blushing slightly. He walked over to Sam and the boys at the table. "Where's Em?"

"Upstairs sleeping," Sam replied. "Said she was feeling kinda funny all day. Said that last night she dreamt about fish."

Jake's eyes widened. "Naw," he said, bringing in Sam for a hug. They both started laughing, fist-bumping and slapping each other on the back. Embry, Jared, Seth and Paul looked at them, not understanding at all.

They both broke away instantly, scratching the backs of their heads in shame. "Er, Jake…you got something you wanna spill to us?" Sam asked.

"You saw?" he asked, eyes becoming as large as saucers.

"Mmm. Everything." Jared agreed.

"_Tell me sweetheart. Say it out loud."_ Quil mocked one of his sayings. "Looks like seeing Paul's thoughts can help a brother out."

Jake shook his head, sitting down at the table and grabbing one of Emily's banana muffins.

"_Damn it, Bells. I think you've stolen something of mine—my heart."_ Paul mocked. "He didn't learn that from me."

"You're a fucking hypocrite, Black." Jared laughed. "You marshmallow."

"But it was hot," Seth admitted. "She screamed your name, Jake. Congrats,"

Jake shot him a look. "You're too young for this crap," he spat.

"Naw, man. I'm not as innocent as everyone else thinks I am. I see into Paul's mind all the time. I'm no stranger to a nice pussy." Seth grinned. Jared guffawed and clapped him on the back.

"And yet you're still a virgin," Jake shot back. Seth shut up instantly as Paul, Quil and Embry cracked up in the corner of the table.

"Ooh, burn." Jared said, downing a glass of beer.

"So Casanova, you're at first base. Next up is second base and you gotta get that dick out." Paul grinned.

_I plan to, _Jake thought.

**Please review!**

**Courtney**

**Up Next: Fall and Chase- Bella reunites with someone from her past, and sees something that she wasn't supposed to see.  
**


	7. Fall and Chase

**A/N: Thanks for keeping up with me, everybody. We got in the triple digits, woohoo! I have a YouTube trailer made by a fan on my profile page if anyone was interested. I also had an ****amazing**** banner made by my good friend Don'tcallmeleelee and the link is also on my profile page. Check them out!**

**Song: Hearing Damage by Thom Yorke**

**Chapter 7: **

Bella kicked off her flip-flops and set her beach bag on the ground. She'd gone to First Beach plenty of times before with Jessica and her group of high school friends. But the only difference now was that Bella was alone. The beach wasn't too crowded that day, but there were a decent amount of people there.

She wore a white cover-up over her new forest green bikini that Jess had begged her to buy. Apparently it looked 'so totally cute' on her, which in Jess' mind meant that she _had _to buy it.

She lay down her towel on the sand and headed out towards the ocean. It was chilly in September, and Bella had to get out and have some fun before her vacation from work ended. She owned a little coffee pub named 'The Java House' and could take vacations practically anytime she wanted.

For some reason, she felt as if the entire male population was staring at her exposed flesh. She tugged on her straw hat and peered around through her light brown aviators.

The waves licked at her feet. Bella cringed and jumped back instantly. The water was freezing; she was lucky if her toes didn't blacken and fall off from the sheer lack of heat.

She began to walk down the beach, trying to get used to her chilly surroundings.

Bella walked along the shoreline, kicking away sea shells that were in her way. She remembered when she used to travel to the beaches in Arizona when she was younger and still lived with her mother. The memories of building sand castles with Renee and collecting sea shells in a bucket were still very much alive in the back of her mind.

A series of whoops occurred from behind her. Bella wondered if she dared to turn around and look. Her curiosity got the better of her and she foolishly turned to look as a young man was heading straight towards her in a path of destruction—he wasn't looking where he was going. She rushed to move back, but it was too late. A volleyball soared over her head as the heavy body collided with hers, knocking her over.

He twisted in mid-fall, his upper body pinning her legs to the sand. His hands braced his fall, his face landing into her upper thighs. Bella gasped as the young man looked up with an apologetic look on his face. "Sorry about that—" he began to say, until he took in her physique. His apologetic expression was gone instantly to be replaced by a familiar smug grin.

He laughed loudly, making Bella's eyes widen in shock. She knew who he was. He knew who she was, as well.

"Out of all the pussies on the beach, I fall into yours. Now how fortunate is that?" he asked arrogantly.

"Paul!" she shrieked, trying to wiggle out from under his grasp.

But he kept her locked in place, crawling up her body until his upper half crushed hers. Bella groaned in discomfort, not liking the position at all. Her breasts were squished against his chest, and his prominent erection was rubbing against her thigh.

"Get off of me, you big lug!" she hissed, pawing at his muscled shoulders with her tiny hands.

"Baby," Paul pouted. "Don't you love me anymore?"

"You're a joke," she spat angrily as she felt the vibrations of feet bounding her direction. A pair of strong hands grabbed Paul by the neck and flung him back. It was Jacob—her hero here to rescue her.

"I swear, you have no fucking decency!" he growled, shoving Paul back in anger. Hothead charged at Jake, but Jared stood between them, holding a hand out to stop Paul in his tracks.

Bella lay on the sand, eyes wide as saucers underneath her aviators. Embry extended a hand out towards her, helping her up. He had to take a second look at her before he realized who she was. "Cabin girl? Hey, honey!" He swung her in for a bear hug, his massive arms enveloping her.

A swarm of girls gawked at the sight, scoffing in jealousy. Bella couldn't help but smugly smile at them. Their jaws dropped as they huddled in to gossip about her.

"Hey, Embry…" Bella murmured. His chest was sizzling hot, like he'd been roasting in an oven for hours. His temperature was identical to Jake's. He released her from his hug, allowing her to look around. Jake was still spewing out angry curses at Paul, and Jared was still trying to keep both of their tempers under control.

She shrugged off her wet, sandy filled cover up in disgust. She threw it back to her towel. She hadn't noticed the boys' shocked glances.

"Um…hi, Bella!" Seth greeted eagerly. Bella grinned widely and went to hug him. She definitely had a sweet spot for the young boy with the dark features. He was always so polite to her. He ran his hands over her back warmly. He was burning up just like Embry and Jake.

"Hey, what about me, sweetheart?" Quil asked, opening his arms to her. She went to hug him, feeling the warmth radiating from under his skin.

"It's really nice to see you guys," she said sheepishly as Jake approached her, his face still flaming. But he but a smile on his face once he saw her, rushing to her and embracing her sweetly.

"Bells!" he cried, gripping her tightly to his scorching body. He pecked her cheek reflexively, making her think of the night before. Bella felt herself become aroused all over again. "You okay? You took a hard fall…thanks to that jackass over there."

She laughed. "I'm okay. It was just an accident."

"Hell it was," Jake grumbled, glaring back at his pack brother. Paul looked at her and grinned.

"Sorry sugar," he apologized.

Bella gulped and nodded. "Yup."

Jake tightened his grip around her waist and followed his friends up to the rocky cliffs. "Where are we going?" she asked, eyeing the cliffs in wonder. She'd heard about people cliff diving before, and she'd heard that it was dangerous.

"The boys are going cliff diving," Jake replied casually—like diving to your death in an icy ocean wasn't that big of a deal. "You're not going cliff diving, so don't even think about it."

"Excuse me?" She couldn't help the surprised huff of laughter that escaped her from her lips. He tensed up almost instantly, a muscle twitching in his jaw. He shook his head, realizing his possessiveness.

"Sorry," he muttered his apology, looking down at his clenched fists. He was fighting his wolf's urge to control her in order to keep his imprint safe. But the human side of Jacob didn't want to come off as a domineering and controlling freak.

Bella's expression of confusion fell into one of amusement. "It's okay. I only want to know why I'm not going cliff diving."

"It's dangerous," he replied instantly. "I don't want you to get hurt."

"You're such a gentleman, Jacob." Bella smiled and laced her fingers through his, catching him off guard. He stared at their hands for a moment in shock before squeezing her hand in approval. Bella beamed at that same group of girls that had fussed about her before when she'd hugged Embry. She guessed they were all fans of Jacob's little group. She gave a little wave to them, watching as they muttered curses at her under their breaths, rolling their big Bambi eyes. Bella glowed with satisfaction.

Once they reached the tops of the cliffs, Embry prepared to make his dive. "No one ever comes up here but us," Jake pointed out. "They all think we're crazy for jumping this high. Most people jump from lower. Like down there," he pointed to a small ledge closer to the water.

"Sam got pushed off these cliffs once by accident and said it was a rush so it became our tradition to have the newest member of our, uh, patrolling group to jump off of these cliffs from the very top. Y'know, to see what they're made of. This is Seth's first time cliff diving."

"It'll be mine too," Bella commented.

"No."

She snorted.

Jared and Seth fooled around at the edge of the cliffs while the other people at the beach ogled them with fright. Paul and Embry smiled at Bella, who blushed in response. Jake practically growled at them.

"Here, put this over you," he instructed, handing her his navy blue towel.

"I'm fine. It's not that cold," she replied with the quirk of her lips.

"No…I, uh, just think you're drawing the wrong kind of attention. You don't know what they're thinking." Jake spluttered in frustration, his face turning beat red.

"And you do?" Bella chuckled.

_Yeah, as a matter of fact, I do, _was what he wanted to say, but he just settled for, "I've known these guys for a while now." He watched as Bella accepted the towel, wrapping it around her body. That familiar ache that Jacob felt emanating from his groin faded slightly, to his great relief.

"On the count of three, Clearwater!" Jared shouted. "One…"

Seth assumed his stance, his hands shaking slightly with fear.

"Two…"

Bella saw Seth muttering a prayer under his breath, his eyes shut tightly.

"Three!"

The young boy, with all the courage he could possibly muster, dove off of the cliff with ease. Bella gave a small gasp of fright and scurried to the cliff's edge to peer over with the others. They watched as Seth broke the icy surface of the water and disappeared below the surface. For a few moments, they were utterly silent as they searched for Seth.

Seconds passed and nothing happened. The water was still. "Did he drown?" Bella asked in fear of sweet little Seth's life.

"Nah," Quil said. "Give him three seconds."

"One."

"Two."

"Three."

"Seth!" As if on cue, the boy's head popped out of the water and he whooped in achievement. The others called to him, howling their congratulations. Embry dove in after Seth, Jared following behind him.

"Bella, you coming?"

"Yeah!" she replied. Jake caught her arm, giving her a worried look.

"No." He repeated.

"C'mon Jake. Let me have some fun."

"It's dangerous," he replied defiantly.

"Come with me then!"

"No."

"Seth survived. So did Embry and Jared." Bella gave him her prettiest smile, clasping her hands together in excitement. He still shook his head.

"They're boys," he protested.

"What are you suggesting, Jacob Black? That I'm not strong?" she put her hands on her hips and stuck her nose into the air.

"No honey, that's not what I meant…Bella!"

"Here, hold your towel Casanova." Bella tossed him his towel and neared the edge of the cliff with Quil and Paul. Paul shot Jake a smug grin as he inched closer towards Bella as she prepared to take her dive off of the cliff.

Jake threw the towel aside and started after her. Bella looked back to see him nearing her, a frightening storm brewing in his eyes. "Dammit Bella, I told you it's dangerous!" he growled.

"Jake—"

All of the sudden, Bella's feet flew out from underneath her and she went spiraling down into the water. She screamed in alarm as she plummeted towards the water.

"Oh, shit!" Paul cried out in shock.

0o0o0o0o

He'd seen the terrified expression on her face as she fell backwards off of the cliff into the water. His wolf howled with anger and horror inside of him. He rushed to the cliff's edge, watching as she hit the water. "_Bella!"_ he cried.

Without hesitation, he whirled around and ran down the path to the beach. He swore he couldn't reach her fast enough. He rushed into the water as Embry and Jake held her up. She coughed and rubbed water out of her face.

He rushed into the water, stealing Bella from their grasp and clutching her to his body.

Instead of how he'd originally thought she'd react (crying, shaking with fear and pain) she began to laugh and clap her hands. "Jake," she whispered, her lips trembling from the freezing water. "That…was...amazing!"

He clasped her tighter, never wanting to let go. His heart was nearly beating out of his chest, his breathing minimal. She hugged him back, burying her head in the crook of his neck.

Suddenly, she was pushed away by his heavy arms and her shoulders were gripped by his strong hands. He looked at her sternly, like she was a child that he was scolding for stealing a cookie.

"Bells," he breathed, trying to keep his temper under control and not phase into his wolf. "What in the _hell _were you thinking?"

"Sam was right," Bella spoke, ignoring his comment. "That was a rush. Jake, can we go again—"

"Are you kidding me, Bella? What you did was so stupid! You almost died!" he shouted, drawing the attention of the bystanders. Bella wrenched herself out of his grip.

She grinned and smacked his ass, "You're just overreacting. Come on!"

His mouth hung slack, still unbelieving of what she'd just done.

_She just slapped my ass. What the hell?_

The rest of the boys bounded down the pathway to the cliff. "Bella!" Paul cried out, an expression of genuine worry embedded across his handsome features.

"Cabin girl, you okay?" Embry asked, his brow knitted together in fear for her well-being.

She nodded and smiled. "Never better," she replied. "Let's go up again!"

The others cheered and escorted her back up the cliff.

0o0o0o0o

Jacob slammed her truck door tight before grasping the steering wheel tightly. She pulled the towel tightly around her shoulders. "I'm ready."

Embry, Seth, Jared, Paul and Quil were still cliff diving when Bella decided it was time to go home and start on her dinner. Bella had convinced Jacob to dive with her after she'd daringly smacked him on the ass. But Jacob had refused to let her cliff dive without him by her side. Not that she cared at all.

Jake drove the Chevy down the road, away from First Beach and his friends. His face was stuck in an emotionless plaster, his lips pinched tightly into a straight line, his body tense and his dark eyes locked on the road ahead of him.

"Are you all right?" she asked him. He stared towards the road, his knuckles turning white from gripping the wheel so hard. "You've been acting kind of funny all day."

Jacob knew that the imprint's bonds were getting harder to avoid. He'd had a heart-attack when she'd fallen off of that cliff, and his wolf was savagely demanding that he stand by her side and protect her at all costs—it was his wolf's way of acknowledging what had happened that day and telling him that it would damn well never happen again.

He forced a smile, the scent of her filling his nostrils. "I'm sorry, Bells. There's just something on my mind right now."

"You wanna spill?" she asked sweetly. "I'm all ears."

He chuckled lightly, loosening his grip on the steering wheel. He made a right turn down her road. "I can't _spill,_ honey."

"Keeping secrets, are you?" Bella waggled an eyebrow, giggling at his expression of ridicule.

"I wish I could explain, but I literally can't. Have you…have you ever had a secret that you couldn't tell anyone? One that wasn't yours to tell?" he asked. Bella urged him to go on.

He pulled up into her driveway, and pulled the key out the ignition. The engine spluttered and died down. He dropped his head, sighing. "Well it's like that for me. But worse…way worse…"

Jacob looked at her, shifting in his seat. "Honey, you have no idea how tight I'm bound."

"What, do you have a secret love child or something?" Bella asked, raising her eyebrows.

Jacob gave her a funny look, laughing in surprise. "No, honey…"

He swung open the truck door and stepped out. Bella grabbed her beach bag and her gripped the towel around her body, following him up the gravelly path in her hot pink flip-flops. She guessed he wouldn't be telling her anything anytime soon.

She stepped up onto her porch beside Jacob and fiddled with the key in the lock. "Again, thanks for driving me home. You sure you don't wanna stay for dinner? I'm makin' a pot pie." Bella smiled at him.

He shook his head, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Rebecca, my other older sister is coming home tonight and I gotta be there. I would if I could."

Bella hung her head inattentively, turning back to go inside. "Okay. Have fun." She shut the door in his face, making him feel like the biggest piece of shit on the face of the earth. Did she think that he was mad at her?

First he screamed at her at First Beach for accidentally falling off of a cliff. Then he wouldn't tell her his secret or spill his guts to her, and now he ditched her. He sighed, knocking on the door again. He heard her light footsteps near the doorway as the doorknob turned. She opened the door, staring at him in the face.

Jake gave her his most handsome smile, leaning back so he could look at her fully. "Save me some pot pie," he murmured. Then he lurched forward and captured her lips, one hand cupping her chin and the other trailing down the side of her slightly exposed breast. Breaking away, "I'll be back for it tomorrow." He winked at her.

She stood with her eyes as wide as saucers and her mouth dangling open in astonishment. "O-Okay."

He delivered another quick kiss to her lips before turning on his heels and dashing into the forest.

0o0o0o0o

Bella had finished her pot pie and completed the task of scrubbing her dishes around seven o' clock at night. She'd been rummaging through her suitcases for something to do when she'd found a new book—_The Great Gatsby._ Bella as a collector of the classics and _The Great Gatsby_ happened to be her mother's old book. Renee loved that book, and gave it to Bella as a parting gift when she moved to Forks with Charlie.

She loved reading outside where she could be surrounded by nature. She was halfway into the book when she heard sticks snap and leaves rustle. She marked the page she was on and looked out towards the trees. Had Jacob ditched his dinner with his sister?

She stepped off of her porch, walking down the tree line. The figure stepped out of the forest once she came close to him. He was an African American male from France—someone she recognized very well.

"Laurent?" Bella gasped, eyes flying open in surprise.

He took a step forward, the white shells embroidered into his long, black dreadlocks clacking together. "Ah, ma fille douce," he murmured. "I did not expect to find you here. I went to visit the Cullens, but I found that their house was empty. I'm surprised they left you behind. Weren't you sort of a…pet of theirs?"

Bella's eyes widened at the remembrance of the painful memory named Edward Cullen. "Edward and I…we aren't…"

Laurent frowned sardonically. "So sorry, Bella. I knew how much you two cared about each other."

She tried to push the thought away. Everything that had happened when she was with Edward, she wanted to forget. And she'd come up to this cabin to escape everything, to forget.

"And you left your father?" he questioned, licking his lips.

"I moved out on my own. I'm nineteen." Bella replied, shaking nervously.

_Why? Laurent's a friend. He warned us about James._

"Still young to me," the vampire chuckled.

Bella nodded her head, popping the question that would turn their conversation from bad to worse. "Why are you here?"

"Ah. I came as a favor to Victoria. But she is dead, killed by a fatal wound to her neck. I told her not to look for you in these woods alone, but alas, she did not listen." Laurent was now looming three feet away from her.

Bella took a small step backwards. "I don't understand—" she began. The wind whistled through the trees, blowing her human scent towards his nostrils. Laurent inhaled, his red eyes rolling back in his head.

"Victoria would have wanted this," Laurent spoke, stroking Bella's pale cheek. His bright red eyes instantly turned black, lusting with hunger. "I hate to kill you…you were such a good little human. But I cannot help myself. You look so delicious…so mouthwatering."

Bella felt panic stirring in the pit of her stomach. "Laurent," she begged. "_Please._ Don't do this. I thought you were a friend."

In one step, the vampire was in front of her, caressing her face with his rough, cold hands. "No, no, no. Shh, mon cheri. I am doing a favor. The beasts in these forests are merciless. If they catch you, death would be a kindness."

_What beasts? What is he talking about?_

She tried to escape, but he swiped at her arm, his sharp nails making a clean cut through her skin. She gasped and clutched her bleeding arm. Pulling her forwards, he stepped back and raised his hand to the height of her head. "Laurent," she pleaded.

"Mon cheri," he spoke. "You will feel _nothing._" Laurent pulled his hand back, ready to strike, when a loud growl erupted from somewhere in the forest. He stopped in his tracks, his eyes turning from black to red in shock. He slowly turned to see a massive black wolf stalking forwards. Teeth bared, eyes filled with fury, claws sharp and ready to kill.

"I do not believe it," he whispered. Bella's eyes widened at the sight, and she took a few steps back. More wolves stepped out from the shadows, snarling and growling. She noticed that none of the wolves paid any attention to her, and she was thankful for that reason. The black wolf charged, causing Laurent to dart the opposite direction in a daring attempt to escape.

Bella gasped as the wolves followed the black one in pursuit of the vampire. Laurent raced off towards the woods, the giant bear-sized wolves following him, hot on his trail. The vampire suddenly skidded to a stop, his strong marble hands hitting the black wolf in the side and sending it spiraling back into the trees. The black wolf regained consciousness with a shake of its massive head and charged again.

A russet wolf stopped before her cabin, shooting her a sideways glance. Its eyes were so large—she could see her reflection in its eyes. She felt that she should be scared of the wolf, but her conscience was telling her not to be. The wolf growled lowly, taking a step towards her. The wolf noticed her wound and saw the blood seeping out from her closed fingers. It snarled, baring its teeth. Bella stumbled backwards in fright instantly, knocking over her wooden table and falling over it. The wolf whimpered and slowly trotted towards her.

0o0o0o0o

Jacob stopped before her cabin, shooting her a sideways glance. She saw that she was abnormally calm, staring at him in both wonder and fright with those big, brown eyes. She should be scared of him. He growled low in his throat, seeing the wound on her arm.

_She should be terrified. _

He snarled loudly, baring his teeth at her. That seemed to do the trick. Bella stumbled backwards, snapping out of whatever stupid trance she was in. She moved backwards into her wooden coffee table, and fell over it.

_You asshole! Why did you do that?_

He whimpered, slowly trotting near her porch steps. He wanted to make sure she was okay. 'Bella, I'm sorry,' was what he tried to say, but it came out in small whines. She clutched her arm, trying her best to get away from him. She pressed herself firmly to the door of her cabin, staring at him with her frightened eyes.

_I'm a fucking monster. A beast._

He ducked his head, sighing in shame.

_She thinks she can tame me. You can't tame a beast, Bella. _

He knew he should be with the others.

_But I can't leave her._

But he had to. There was no way he could stay when that leech was out there somewhere. He could have killed her.

_Please…just don't give up on me. _

He took a step towards the forest, watching her cautious reaction.

_I need you._

Jacob ran off into the forest howling madly, in search of the bloodsucker that almost drained the life out of his imprint. He was going to kill that thing slowly, give him what he deserved. He was going to shred him limb from limb, claw him into tiny strips of flesh, and then burn him. He was going to revel in the scent of burning vampire flesh, getting drunk off of it.

_No…no. You can't tame a beast, Bella._

0o0o0o0o

**Please review!**

**Hugs and Smooches,**

**Courtney**

**Up Next: Welcome to the Club- Jacob reveals all to Bella, and she finds herself to be the fourth member of "The Club."**


	8. Welcome to the Club

**Hello all, sorry for such the long wait. I've been pretty busy with everything going on my life. Thank you to my dedicated reviewers for reviewing for me and keeping up with me. It is very much appreciated! Reviews boost self esteem. The more reviews I get, the faster I post. Please tell me what you think.**

**This chapter is dedicated to C-Jay CD, and Bejazzled.**

**Chapter 8**

The following morning when Jacob showed up at her door, he was a complete mess. His eyes were fresh from previously cried tears and his body was covered in blue-black bruises and bright red scratches.

He pulled her into his arms without a word, and rested his head on her shoulder. Her arm was wrapped in a white, fabric bandage blood staining the cloth. Her heart still pounded against her chest at remembrance of last night. She collapsed against him.

He'd been a wreck last night. He'd been the one to first smell the stench of leech lingering by her cabin, and tried to warn everyone. They'd almost gotten there too late. Sam had led the others on the chase while Jacob stayed behind for a few moments to make sure that the leech didn't have back up waiting to snatch her up.

She looked so terrified when he approached her on her porch. He was a monster, and he hated that. He didn't want her to be afraid of him.

"Are you okay?" he asked, pulling back to examine her. "I heard you got attacked." She nodded her head slowly.

"I'm fine now," she replied, leaning up against the cabin wall.

"Really?" he asked, gesturing to her wounded arm. She blushed and wrapped a firm hand over her bicep.

"I went into town last night and I got stitched up at the hospital. I'm on pain and numbing meds…I really am okay now." Bella said.

"It's all my fault," he mumbled in anger, his hands coming up to sharply tug at the cropped black hair at the back of his neck. He swung at the wall next to him, and cracked the wood there. Bella gaped in shock as he walked away, not in pain at all.

"No, it's not," Bella cut in. "You weren't even there."

He turned on his heel, his face looming before hers. She inhaled sharply, pressing her back more firmly against the wall. "Yes," Jacob began. "Yes, I was."

"No, no. There were only wolves. Huge, massive wolves. Jake…did you know that there were wolves the size of bears in your forest?" she asked, her big brown eyes nearly bulging out of her head. "I know you said you belonged to a patrolling group that protects the Res, but I bet you didn't know that—"

"Bella, honey…Shh." He laid a finger over her moving lips. "Come here. I need to tell you something very important."

"O-Okay."

She followed him to the couch and sat down next to him. He looked at the wall for a few moments, swallowing a large lump in his throat. "You remember when I took you to that bonfire?" he asked.

"Yeah. That was fun," Bella nodded.

"You remember the story that my dad told us?"

"Yeah, I do. The one about the spirit warriors and the cold ones, right?"

"Right. And what if I told you that was true?" He turned to look at her. Her brow was furrowed and her lips were pinched into a hard line. She was deep in thought. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

"I…It's not true, though. You told me."

"Well, I lied." Jake said.

"Wait," Bella said, flapping her hands in the air frantically. "You're telling me that you're a spirit warrior…a wolf?"

Jake grimaced like he was preparing to take a hard punch to the face. "Y-Yeah."

"No way. Prove it," Bella laughed, folding her arms across her chest.

"You think this is all a joke, right?" Jake guffawed in amazement, standing up to his full, 6'7 height. He loomed over her, making her feel like a mouse next to a giraffe.

"Yeah, quite honestly I do." The tension of the situation was gone as quickly as the sun in Seattle. She stood up to meet a fraction of his height, giving him a challenging stare.

"Alright," Jake said. "Let me show you something that Sam, Jared, Paul, Leah, Seth, Embry, Quil and I all have in common." He led her outside onto the lawn. Bella watched intently, not believing a word he said. Without a word, he unzipped his jean shorts and let them slip to his ankles. He lifted his feet out of the shorts and threw them to the side.

_Thank God he doesn't go commando, _Bella thought.

"You can't be serious," Bella laughed, turning red in the face. She used her hand to cover her eyes in embarrassment. "This has to be a joke."

Jake said nothing. Bella peered at him through her skinny fingers, watching him begin to shake violently. Her hand dropped immediatley. Steam practically puffed out of his ears and nostrils as the tremors began to get worse. "Jacob?" Bella asked in worry.

His brow furrowed and his teeth bared. "Jacob! Stop that!" she cried out, flapping her hands in fear. And before her eyes, clothing was shredded as he jumped into the air and morphed into the same giant, russet wolf she'd seen just the day before.

She shrieked in fear, stumbling backwards and like the klutz she was, fell on her bottom. The wolf's lip pulled back and it let loose a menacing growl that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. The russet wolf approached her slowly, but Bella couldn't run. She was glued in place by some unknown force.

It stopped in front of her, snuffing loudly. It poked its nose forward, hitting her in the stomach. "Jacob?" she tentatively asked. The wolf's tongue lolled out in what seemed to be a giant, wolfy-grin. "Oh my God."

Bella stood up straight, and stuck out a hand as if she were greeting a strange dog. The Jacob-Wolf sniffed her palm and then laid its massive head in her hands. He was too heavy for her to hold, but she admired the gesture the same. "It's really you in there?"

The wolf nodded its big head and nudged her in the side with its nose. She laughed and swatted at him. The wolf nuzzled its big head into her arm, making her stumble back from all of the weight. She clutched her arm in pain. The wolf sat down and whimpered, glancing at her bandaged arm.

"I'm okay," she assured. The giant wolf whined louder, standing and pacing worriedly in front of her. It sat once more, this time directly in front of her, its tongue lolling out to lick her face. Bella wiped the drool off of her face in disgust. When she looked back at the wolf, the wolf was no longer a wolf.

Jacob stood there, stark naked with only a hand cupped over his groin for protection. The remnants of his gray boxer-shorts lay in shreds on the grass. Bella's face instantly reddened. "I—uh," he began, scratching the back of his head. "I ripped my underpants."

"I…I, um…okay, here." Bella tossed him his shorts, which were laying a few feet from where they both stood. He hurriedly slipped his jean shorts up his legs, a funny expression on his face. Bella giggled and Jake snorted in the background. She started to laugh louder, only to be joined by his loud guffawing.

Bella threw her head back towards the sky, covering her mouth as her loud, rambunctious laughter flooded out of her mouth. Jake zipped his pants, his nose scrunching up as he began to crack up even further.

0o0o0o0o

"So you're a werewolf?"

"Shape shifter is the preferred term," he replied. "That, or spirit wolf."

"What's wrong with werewolf?" she asked, her eyebrows rising.

"Makes me feel like a monster," Jake said, running a hand through his short, spiky black hair. "Makes me feel like what I really am underneath this skin." He rubbed at his tribal-tattooed bicep and grimaced.

"You're not a monster, Jake." Bella protested.

"You know nothing about being a monster, Bells. I _kill_ for a living. I could hurt you!" His face enflamed instantly and he began to tremble again. "Even worse, I could _kill_ you!"

Bella shrank back against the pillows of the couch. Jake sat there, beating himself up inside. "You won't hurt me. I know you won't."

"Sam didn't mean to hurt Emily, did he? No!" he roared. She was surprised at the sudden change in his demeanor. He was calm a second ago, but now he was freaking out on her.

"I don't understand," she said. "You told me that Emily got attacked by a bear."

Jake shook his head in disagreement. "No. It's a constant love triangle between Leah, Sam, and Emily."

"Wait…what? Sam was with Leah?" Bella asked, flabbergasted.

"Yeah. That's why she's so uptight all the time. Emily was her cousin, Bells. She came to town one night while Leah was dating Sam and Sam imprinted on her instantly. Sam broke up with Leah for Emily instantly, and when Emily wouldn't have him, he phased into his wolf…and Emily was standing too close." Jake looked down at the ground. "I'd die if anything like that happened to you at my expense. Sam gets a constant reminder of what he did to Emily that day."

"Oh my God. That's terrible! Poor Leah. No wonder she seems so mean." Bella pondered aloud.

Jake snorted.

"Hey Jake?"

He looked at her, giving her his full attention.

"What's an imprint?"

He seemed to freeze at that exact moment. He tensed up, but his anger seemed to fade instantly. His eyes blackened with lust as his wolf seemed to awaken beneath his skin. "It's, uh…"

"Go ahead," Bella smiled and lay her hand over his.

"Imprinting is like…like when you see her, your whole center shifts. And suddenly, gravity's not the thing that's keeping you on the earth anymore—it's her. You would do anything, be anything for her. A friend, a brother, a protector…" He swallowed the lump in his throat before looking into her big, brown eyes. "A lover."

She nodded, moving a wisp of her chestnut hair out of her eyes. "So Sam imprinted on Emily…is that like love at first sight? One of those cliché 'true love' things?"

"Yeah, pretty much. It's like a wolfish-claim. Our wolves choose our destined mates and we are committed to them for life. Our souls are permanently bonded together," he said. "Sam imprinted on Emily, Jared imprinted on Kim, and Quil imprinted on Claire. You saw them at the bonfire, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember. Jake?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you have an imprint?"

He sighed, leaning back in his chair. Jake stared into the fireplace, his eyes locked on the burning logs lying on top of each other. "Yeah."

"Oh," Bella's eyes widened and her head dropped instantly in disappointment.

"She's the most amazing woman I've ever met," Jake beamed, his eyes sparkling. "She's everything a guy could dream for."

"_Oh_," her lips twisted into a frown and her eyes became slightly glossy. Her heart felt like it had been ripped into a billion little pieces.

"I couldn't imagine anyone else for me." Jake propped his arms up onto the back of the couch and grinned.

"She sounds great. What's her name?" Bella asked, mustering the courage to talk after such a let-down.

"Bella. Bella Swan."

"Whoa. You're serious?"

"When have I not been serious, Bells? You were made for me."

"So you're like my boyfriend?" she questioned hesitantly. "And I'm your girlfriend?"

"Honey, you've always been my girlfriend in my mind."

"Neat-o."

Jacob just laughed. "The wolf pack has a telepathic ability to talk to each other through our minds when we're phased and unphased. They see everything we think about."

"Everything? Wow, that sucks. You have no privacy whatever."

"I know, it's terrible. But now to more serious concepts. As a shape shifter, our duty is to protect our lands from cold ones."

"As in 'cold ones', you mean vampires, right?"

"Exactly right." Jake said. "They're the most nasty, vile creatures on the face of this damned earth. They all deserve to go to Hell. With that eternal life thing…they're just stalling with their visit to Hell."

There was fire in those eyes of his, and it made Bella shudder beneath her warm leather jacket. "Jake, I—"

"If one of those bloodsuckers comes near you again, I swear I'll…" He watched with widened eyes as Bella rolled up the sleeves to reveal a nasty scar on her wrist. "Bells…what the hell?"

She gulped as she showed him the only thing left from her past. He quickly snatched her wrist and examined the scar with his stormy eyes. "I know this bite," he mumbled. "I've seen it before. It's a leech—I mean, vampire bite."

He suddenly dropped her wrist in realization. "My ex…the one I told you about, was a vampire. And he killed the vampire who did this to me." Bella explained to him. "As you can see, I'm not a vampire."

"H-How? Is there a cure for this?" Jake panicked, staring at the bite mark.

"Edward sucked the venom out of my wrist," she replied.

His face fell. "How did I not see this before?"

"Makeup does wonders, Mr. Black."

"This…this will never, ever happen again, you hear me?" Jacob pulled her face up to his and looked into her eyes.

"It almost did again," Bella said in the remembrance of Laurent.

He looked guilt-stricken and upset with himself. Bella raised her hand and ran her fingers through his soft, black hair. "Never again," he mumbled. He kissed her on the mouth, his clever tongue darting between her parted lips. "Honey, I swear…_never again."_

0o0o0o0o

"Now that you know about all the fucked up shit in my life, I'm gonna drop you off with the other imprints—let you socialize. There are a lot of things you don't know…and quite honestly, it's a little uncomfortable for me to tell you, so I'll let Emily and her crew explain to you. Like how you accept my imprint." Jacob said.

"How do you accept the imprint?" she questioned.

"Er…I…Emily," he managed to choke out. "We should…uh…go…"

"Oh okay. I could drive us in my truck," Bella suggested, stuffing her hands into her brown leather jacket's pockets.

"Nah," Jake shot down that idea quickly. "We're gonna take the fastest transportation there is."

Bella was about to ask what he meant when Jake phased into his large, russet wolf without a word. Her, not being used to the whole 'my-boyfriend-turns-into-a-giant-dog' situation, jumped back in shock when the wolf snarled loudly.

The Jacob-wolf's big pink tongue lolled out of its mouth and licked her face eagerly. "Gross!" Bella screeched, wiping drool of out her eyes. The wolf made a small noise that sounded like chuckling. The wolf lowered itself to the ground, allowing her to climb up onto its back.

Bella swung a leg over the wolf's back, grabbing handfuls of its reddish-brown hair to steady herself. Once she was balanced, the wolf stood up and darted into the forest. Bella bounced helplessly on the back of the giant-Jacob-wolf, trying to stay on her ride.

0o0o0o0o

"Looks like someone's found out. Hey, Bella!" Emily waved her hand, seeing the girl bouncing on the back of Jacob's wolf. Bella slid from the wolf's back and shot him a wary glance. The russet wolf nuzzled its big head into her chest, and Bella patted the large head with her tiny hand.

While she made her way up to Emily's front porch steps, Jacob turned and disappeared into the forest. When Bella looked back, he was gone. "Where'd he go?" she asked, double-taking at his sudden disappearance.

"Probably on patrol. Sam had sent Jared and Quil out on patrol a few minutes ago, so naturally I would think that's where he's going as well. Here…c'mon in, Bella." Emily opened the door for her, leading her inside. At the table sat Kim and fifteen year old Claire, who stared at her like she had five heads.

"Well," Kim spoke softly. "You must be Jake's imprint." She stood from her seat and moved to greet her. Bella smiled meekly as Kim pulled her into a gentle hug. "Welcome to the imprint club. You make the fourth member."

Bella felt the strong dislike that Kim felt for her. Though Kim had a smile on her face, her eyes told a completely different story. Bella was used to those kinds of fake people from school—and she remembered one girl in particular; Lauren Mallory. Lauren reminded Bella of Kim. But Kim was a plain version of her high school rival.

"Bella!" Claire bounded over to her and forced her way into her arms. Bella stumbled back slightly and smiled as the younger girl stood back and smiled. "You're my Uncle Jay's girl. I met you at the bonfire, remember?"

"How could I forget?" Bella laughed as the girl bounced on the balls of her feet in excitement.

"I can feel it already…we're going to be best friends!" Claire exclaimed, only to by hushed by a stern Kim.

"Are you hungry, Bella? I made banana muffins." Emily set a basket of fresh muffins on the counter. Claire grabbed two muffins while Kim shook her head. Emily looked down at Bella, hopeful.

Though bananas weren't really her _thing_, Bella still reached for one. Emily smiled after she took a bite of the muffin. "Mmm," Bella said, mumbling her compliment to Emily. "S'good. Thanksh."

"You're very welcome. My muffins are always a hit with the boys. Jake, especially." Emily winked at Bella, making her blush a bright red. "Do you cook?"

"Yeah," she replied, swallowing a bite of banana muffin. "All the time."

"Perfect!" Emily clapped her hands together, the scar on her face crinkling as she smiled. "We are a cooking group. We'd better be if we have all of those hungry werewolves to feed. Oh, they eat like horses for every meal! I wonder when they'll stop."

Claire giggled. "Quil eats my pantry out when he comes over!" she said.

"Anytime I ask Jared to do something, he'll just slap my ass and tell me to make him a burger." Kim smiled slightly. "The thought of him making dinner one night would be like asking him to pee in his water bottle in then drink it."

"Gross," Emily grimaced. "But I know what you mean. Sam is so stubborn sometimes, though."

Claire leaned over to Bella. "So…how do you like this place so far? It's where all the girls come and hang out."

"Cool. Does Leah Clearwater come too?" Bella, like a fool, felt the need to ask that question. Kim and Emily fell silent as Claire blushed and silently wished she hadn't said anything to Bella.

"No," Kim snapped. "You should really watch what you say, you know that right?"

Bella felt taken aback. Emily laid a hand on Kim's shoulders and shot her a warning.

"Leah doesn't come here anymore," Emily explained. "It reminds her of Sam and she hates that."

"Oh. Right." Bella shook her head, mentally slapping herself. Way to make things awkward in 0.3 seconds flat. "I'm so sorry."

"Oh, it's okay!" Emily cheerily replied. "I try not to think about it too much. But—" She poured herself a glass of milk before slamming the refrigerator door closed. "We have been thinking nonstop about you and Jake."

"We have?" said Kim.

"Yes," Emily shot Kim another scolding glance. "We have. So, do tell us Bella, how in the world did you manage to squeeze between Jacob's fortresses?"

Bella blushed again and shrugged her shoulders. "A little kissing always works," she giggled. Emily grinned, her scarred face lighting up instantly.

"Yes! Yes, Bella it does," the older woman agreed. "But tell me something first: did you accept the imprint?"

"I have no idea. I asked Jacob but he said he'd leave that up for you guys to tell me. Did you all accept the imprints?" she questioned.

Claire, Kim, and Emily all shook their heads in unison.

"So, what is it? You say 'I love you' or something like that?"

Kim scoffed and rolled her eyes. Claire cupped a hand over her mouth to encase her giggles. Emily set down her glass of milk and smiled.

_Always,_ Bella thought. _There is always someone laughing at me._

"Sex." Emily replied instantly. "You have to have sex with Jacob for you to accept the imprint."

"Oh." Bella fell silent. "Oh!" she suddenly exclaimed, the realization that all three females had said 'yes' to her previous question. "But Claire…you're only fourteen, or something like that."

Claire giggled again. "Fifteen, actually. And Quil can't help the fact that he desires every inch of me."

"Claire Young!" Emily hissed. "That is _enough._"

Bella, once more, found herself to be completely revolted at the idea of twenty year old Quil Ateara making love to fifteen year old Claire. She was five years younger than him, for God's sake!

"So…Jacob has to make love to me in order for the imprint to be accepted. Right?" Bella asked.

Emily nodded her head, her black braids swinging on her shoulders. "Right. With Sam, I had to be a submissive to him. You know how wolves are with their dominants and their submissive. Sex for the guys is like a huge wolf claiming process. It has to be done…and the first time can be a bit scary with the way they're so possessive and dominant. But let me tell you sister, the sex after the claiming is uh-mazing!"

Bella blushed and laughed lightly. "I only met Jacob a month ago, and this…this is all a huge surprise for me."

Emily nodded. "I know how you feel. When I came to town to meet with the Clearwaters and Sam imprinted on me, he had me knowing about the werewolves and in two weeks flat. And then I was in his bed the next day."

Bella would have been lying if she had said she wasn't extremely uncomfortable with the subject, and the mention of the Emily-Sam-Leah love triangle made her feel terrible for Leah and slightly loathe Emily and Sam.

"I'd liked Jared for four years and I sat right next to him in our senior year," Kim jumped in. "He never even noticed me until he phased and looked me in the eye. BAM! I was his chosen wolfy-soulmate."

Claire smiled. "I was in love with Quil from a young age. But everyone brushed it off and thought of my love for him was just some stupid ten year old infatuation with an older guy. But when he phased when he was seventeen, he looked me in the eyes and…it happened. Everything felt so right! But he did make me wait two years so my parents would think he was some kind of freak." She giggled.

She nodded, grabbing another one of Emily's banana muffins. Emily looked out of the window as the sound of whooping echoed in her ears. "Ooh," she clapped her hands together. "The boys are home. Get ready, Bella. Jake's probably told them already. And you know how friendly our boys are."

Emily winked at Bella. Kim shot them both an evil glare. "Jared's not friendly with other girls," she hissed.

As the guys flooded into Emily's little wooden cabin, they bombarded Bella with questions. She tried desperately to find Jake amongst the crowd of people, but had no such luck.

"Did he hit you up?"

"Did our Jake put his hotdog in the bun?"

"Did he slide to home base?"

Bella held up a hand to silence them all. "No," she said softly. "Just…no."

"Well…" Paul spoke in his smooth, silky accent. "Then I guess you're still up for grabs." He pulled her in for a hug, planting one right on her cheek. The others roared with laughter as the others swarmed in on her to squash her with their big, wolfy hugs.

Kim grabbed Jared by the arm before he could make his way to Bella. "Oh, hell you're not." She growled and tugged him away before he could protest.

Sam stood by the doorway with Emily, tasting some of her fresh out of the oven pastries. "Delicious," he murmured. "I love your desserts."

Bella finally broke free from the group, only to fall into the arms of an angry Jacob. He pulled her close to him and shielded her with his massive bulge of bicep-muscle. "Cut it out," he seethed.

Embry, Quil and Seth shied away instantly, but hothead Paul stood there looking quite satisfied with himself. "Paul," Sam's interest suddenly snapped away from Emily's pastries to his pack brother. "That's enough. Don't you rile him up."

Paul reluctantly obeyed the Alpha's orders, walking by Jake slowly. "You know," he whispered into Jake's ear. "I would've snagged her if you hadn't imprinted on her paleface ass."

Bella found Jacob quaking with fury above her. She looked up at him with widened eyes. "Jacob!" Sam yelled from across the room. "Calm yourself. Now."

Jared grabbed Kim and shielded her with his body, and Sam held Emily protectively in the corner. Bella reached up to stroke Jake's heated face, her touch instantly calming him. He shook his head, seeming to snap out of his angry trance.

"Sorry," Jake whispered to everyone. "Lost myself."

Sam glared at Paul with his dark eyes. "You're on double shift, Lahote. People could have gotten hurt from your antics."

Paul groaned and sat down at the table. "I have a date," he protested. "Can't leave a pretty girl hanging."

"You'll just have to find another whore later," Quil remarked, everyone else bursting into laughter along with him. Paul clenched his teeth and glared lethally at the crowd.

Bella sat down at Emily's table next to Jake, watching curiously as he grabbed some muffins from the basket and devour them instantly. "Hungry?" she asked him.

Jake nodded, his mouth full with muffin. "Mmm-hmm." He swallowed his food and gave her a smile. "Did Emily tell you everything?"

"Everything," Bella agreed, blushing at just the remembrance of it.

"You're okay with that?" he questioned nervously. Though every girl he'd ever met desired him in both an intimate and physical way, Jacob still felt self-conscious about himself and his secret.

"Of course!" Bella replied. She knew that he knew that she was a virgin, and it seemed to make him exceptionally happy that she'd never lain with a man before.

"Really?" he asked, his eyes widening.

"Definitely. I think I'm ready…I mean, I'm nineteen." She smiled at him, running a hand through her hair. "And I never asked how old you were."

"Seventeen, turning eighteen in a month." Jake replied, pulling apart his muffin on his napkin.

"Wow," she breathed, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "I feel like such a cougar."

"Why?" Jake laughed. "I'm like, a few months younger than you, that's all."

"Still," Bella said.

Emily clapped her hands together, silencing everyone in the room. "I have an announcement!" she cried. "To welcome Bella into the club, Sam and I have decided to host a party this weekend. We are also going to be announcing some things, so I expect you all to attend." Emily gave her sickeningly sweet smile to the crowd.

**Please review, it will make me write faster. If you like what's coming up, REVIEW. It'll come faster, I promise.**

**Hugs and Smooches,**

**Courtney Howlett**

**Up Next: Body Language- Paul drives Bella home from her work at the coffee pub and Bella willingly submits to Jake's lust for her.**


	9. Body Language

**Thanks for all of your lovely reviews on the previous chapter. Here's what you've all been waiting for.**

**Songs used: Leavin by Jesse McCartney, Body Language by Jesse McCartney**

**Rated M for language and sexual innuendo and situations. **

**Chapter 9:**

"Paul? What the hell are you doing in my truck?" Bella asked angrily, her face flaming up instantly. She wasn't a fan of him, and he knew that.

"Came to pick ya up from work, baby." Paul grinned his toothy grin and popped his minty gum. Today she'd gone back to her coffee shop and worked a few hours.

"It looks like you're just hitchin' a ride." Bella opened the door to her truck and hopped into the passenger seat. "You're not driving my truck."

"Then why'd you get in the passenger's seat?" Paul asked.

"Because you…because…"

"Just give me the keys, baby girl," he instructed. Bella found herself tossing him the car keys, despite her initial reaction, which was to slap some sense into him. He shoved the key into the ignition, revving up the engine. As he pulled out of the parking lot he glanced her way and grinned. "Have a good day at work?"

"Yes." Bella stiffly replied. Paul smacked on his gum, popping bubbles here and there.

"Good. I'm glad to hear that." He stepped on the pedal, making the truck speed down the isolated road.

"Slow down, idiot!" Bella squealed.

"Relax. I'm just workin' your old piece of junk. And there's no one on the road anyways." Paul chewed his gum and blew a bubble in her face. Bella popped the bubble with the tip of her green fingernail. He chuckled, picking at the fresh gum that was now sticking to his lips. "Thanks for that."

"Anytime."

"Ooh, feisty. I like that." Paul made a right turn, making her jerk in her seat. He was a reckless driver.

He nodded his head over to the CD laying on the dashboard of the truck. "Grab that CD," he instructed.

"Why?" She gave him a skeptical look.

"Just do it. Go ahead and put it in the player."

Bella reluctantly obliged, opening the CD case and popping out the disk. It had no label, so she couldn't tell what he was asking her to play.

"Play track seven," he said.

Bella slipped the CD into the CD player and sped ahead seven tracks. He flicked the volume up to full blast. It was a little loud for her liking, but Paul's reaction to the music was more interesting.

Paul bobbed his head with each beat, dancing stupidly to the music. The most amusing part was when he began to sing along to the lyrics.

"Hey baby girl, I've been watchin' you all day," he sang loudly and off-key. "Man, that thing you got behind you is amazing!"

Bella blushed instantly, but couldn't help the bubbly laughter that fell from her lips. She clamped a hand over her mouth, throwing her head back in entertainment. "You're such a dork, Lahote!"

Paul was pleased with himself for having had made her laugh. "You make me wanna take you out and let it rain…" He swerved his torso to the music, one hand on the steering wheel, the other on his neck. "I know you got a man but this is what you should say…why don't you tell him that 'I'm leaving, never lookin' back again…"

"What the hell is this?" Bella asked. "Is this Jesse McCartney?"

"You found somebody who does it better than he can!" Paul shouted out the window at a random passerby walking on the side of the road. He blasted the music louder, making the truck vibrate with all of the sounds.

Bella punched him lightly in the shoulder, making him turn and laugh at her. "What is the meaning of this, Lahote?" she asked half-amused, half annoyed by his childish antics.

"This is our song, baby girl." Paul replied with a lupine grin and popped his gum again. "Cause you're the baddest little thing that I ever seen, so I'm gonna ask you one time if you got a man?"

She flushed again. "Turn this shit off," she growled and punched the power button.

"Language," Paul poked at her, shaking his head at her. He pressed the power button and flipped to the next track.

"Ooh, that body's like music to my ears," he sang at the top of his lungs. "Cause what you want is right here,"

"Didn't think Jesse McCartney was your thing," Bella called over the blaring music.

"The only reason I listen to him is because these songs are about sex," Paul explained to her.

"I thought you were more of the Eminem, Jay-Z type." She told him.

"Nah," he replied. "I like sex."

"You don't make any sense," Bella laughed as Paul pulled into her driveway.

"Maybe not to you," he retorted, shutting the truck off. "But it makes perfect sense to me. And to most guys."

Bella grabbed her purse and opened the truck's door.

Paul hopped out the other side. "I gotta run, Bella. If Jake finds me here, he'll tear my head off. Not that I'm scared of him, though. He's just a bunny in a wolf suit."

Bella's ears perked up instantly. "Jake? Is he coming?" She clutched her purse a little tighter. "Is he coming up to the cabin?"

"He planned to," Paul replied. He then frowned at her, popping his gum again. "Funny, you never seemed too happy about seeing me."

"Because you're always trying to get your dick in my pants," Bella retorted, shooting him a look. "I don't appreciate that."

He bared his teeth at her. "Well it doesn't help that I can smell your arousal for me," he growled. "I'm not stupid, Swan. Enhanced wolf senses, remember? I know you want me."

"You _are_ throwing yourself at me twenty four seven," she countered. "Hell, you practically dry-fucked me on the beach."

Paul instantly grinned his stupid little grin. "I'm proud about that, baby girl."

"I'm not surprised." Bella said, turning away to climb the porch steps. "You're the biggest man-whore I've ever met. And Jake's so much different than you. He's kind, subtle, and loving."

"And a fucking marshmallow. There's all girl under that mask of his." Paul crossed his arms over his huge chest, his dark eyes flashing with competition.

"I'd rather date a marshmallow then a whore. I like my clothes new, not used. That goes the same way for my guys," she seethed at him.

"Damn. I feel like I should be hurt," Paul said, laying a large hand over his heart. "No one's ever dared insult me like that unless they wanted a good fucking afterwards."

"Well, I don't want you," she replied, flipping through her keys to find her house key. "Bet that's a change, huh?"

"A big one. You're really committed to Jake, aren't you?" Hothead calmed down, stuffing his hands inside of his jean pockets.

"Yeah."

"But you didn't accept the imprint yet, right?" he prodded for her answer.

"No…not yet…"

"Then you're still up for grabs!" Paul laughed, clapping his hands. "You say I'm leaving, never looking back again," he began to sing once more. "So call him shawty, you tell him you found a new man."

Bella face-palmed. "You suck at singing," Bella said, stepping inside of the doorframe. "You should take singing lessons."

"I could practice with you, baby. We could sing together." He thrust his pelvis upward, still grinning stupidly. Suppose he thought this was attractive?

"Go home, Paul. Jake's gonna be here soon."

"He's not gonna fuck you."

"Where the hell did that come from?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"He's not gonna, alright? I know what you're thinking."

"And how would you know?" she hissed.

"Some things you just know, baby…" he murmured. "I don't want him to."

She didn't hear the second part of what he said. She asked him, but he waved her off.

"You deserve better, is what I'm trying to say." Paul corrected himself.

"Well you certainly are full of yourself!" Bella cried, throwing her hands in the air.

Paul's face softened. "I could give you…what you wanted," he said.

"Did you imprint on me too?" she asked suspiciously, narrowing her eyes.

"No…"

"Then why are you so obsessed? Why are you so obsessed with the fact that I could possibly make love to the man who imprinted on me. You want to do it with me, so what's so horrible about him? He's a good guy, Paul." Bella put her hands on her small hips.

"I've never met a girl like you before, okay? I've never seen so much fire in a chick's eyes before…and I've never gotten rejected so harshly like this. Usually women flock to me. This is…a really, big change for me." Paul admitted, his big brown eyes looking more pathetic than normal.

For a moment Bella wanted to embrace him and tell him it would be alright, but she had to remind herself that he was just someone that wanted to use her for what she had beneath her panties. She growled under her breath.

"Have a nice day, Paul." She shut the door in his face, disappearing into her cabin.

"Fuck!" he cried, slamming his fist against the tree to the right of him. "Fucking idiot!" He pulled at his short hair, clearly pissed at himself for failing to woo her.

0o0o0o0o

"You here to claim your pot pie?" she asked him, leaning against the doorframe.

He smirked at her and made his way into the cabin. "You think I'd forget?"

She walked to the refrigerator and fished him the portion of pot pie that she'd saved for him. She turned and handed it to him, watching as he examined the plate. He looked up at her before setting the plate back on the table.

"I'm not that hungry just yet," he spoke, glancing towards the food. "If you didn't already guess it, I'm here for a different reason than food."

"Oh yeah?" She beamed at him and placed her hands on her shapely hips. "And what would that be?"

"Eh," he sighed, rubbing his hands together in nervousness. "It's about accepting the imprint."

Bella felt her heartbeat speed up instantly. She licked her lips, feeling her center become moist with arousal at just the thought of him having his way with her.

"Alright. What about it?" She wiped her hands on her shirt, leaning against the table for support.

For the past few weeks he'd had this urge to take her into his arms and fuck her until they both had had enough…and with the way his wolf was acting, Jake wasn't sure he'd ever have enough of her. She was just so amazing and beautiful…and all _his._

_His. _She was his. Whether she'd accepted the imprint or not, she'd already been his. And no one could ever take her from him.

"I can't…I can't take it anymore," he groaned, tilting his head back.

"Take what? What's the matter?" she rushed to him, caressing his copper-toned face.

He chuckled lightly. She didn't know that she was the cause of his constant arousal and red-hot pain.

_So innocent. _Her big brown eyes were wide with worry as she tried to find the source of his problem.

"It's you." Jake told her. Her eyebrows went up in curiosity, not knowing what he was getting at. "Hell, it's always been you, Bells."

Bella blushed instantly, now knowing what he spoke of.

The imprint.

"I need you," he whispered huskily.

She pressed herself to him and nuzzled his nose with hers. Breathing heavily, he tilted her face up and licked across her closed lips with his tongue. Her eyes fluttered closed as she opened her mouth to invite him in. With the utmost care, he captured them and thrust his tongue inside of her mouth.

She moaned softly, grasping at his biceps as she leaned back in ecstasy. Jake dipped his tongue once, twice, three times before he lip-locked with her. He pushed her back up against the table, urging her to get on top of it.

She obliged eagerly, jumping up onto the table to deepen his access to her mouth. She pushed the food out of the way as he forced her back further with his heavy body. Growling, he nipped at her wet lips with his pearly white teeth. She moaned, running her fingers through his raven hair.

He trailed hot, open mouthed kisses down her neck until he reached her collarbone, sucking hard enough to leave a cherry-red mark.

"God."

He smirked to himself, satisfied with the reaction he got. He kneaded her breasts in his hands, slowly inching down the top of her shirt with each kiss he gave. She pushed him away momentarily to rip off her shirt. She threw it halfway across the room, the anticipation nearly killing her.

At the sight of her lacy black bra, Jake felt his erection grow larger, if that was even possible. He advanced on her again, wrapping his arms around her back and fumbling with the clasp of her bra. With the flick of his thumb, the bra was loose in his hands. He set it aside, his mouth wide as he caught sight of the soft ivory mounds.

"You're beautiful," he murmured, reaching out to glide his fingertips over her flat stomach.

"Thank you." She said, blushing.

"I've always wondered if your nipples were brown or pink," he grinned.

Giggling, "Well, now you know."

He grasped one of her breasts in his hand, flicking his thumb over the perky pink nipple. He took the other one into his hand, rubbing softly. She moaned and threw her head back.

Bending down, he took her nipple into his mouth, biting down gently. "Oh!" she cried, clutching his head to her. He groaned in satisfaction, the vibration of his mouth around her breast sending jolts of pleasure to her core.

He released her nipple with a loud 'pop', running his tongue through the valley of her breasts. He turned his attention the other breast, continuing his ministrations. He flicked his tongue against her pink nub, watching as she panted with wanton.

He gave her nipple one last lick before standing up to look down at his work. Jake ripped his shirt off, allowing Bella to admire his well-built body. She ran her fingers down his chest, kissing his pecks and swirling her tongue across his abdomen.

He gently grasped her face in his hands, pressing a kiss to her lips as she unbuttoned his jean shorts. He was shaking. She was shaking. He wanted this. And if Sam fucking Uley called him away, he'd have to fucking kill something.

She reached inside of his boxers, feeling his hardened member. She pulled him out and nearly dropped dead from the sight of it. Eight, maybe nine inches maybe? Shit.

He shut his eyes tightly, as if in pain. But she knew better. He tensed up instantly, as she pumped him harder, faster. "Fuck," he drew out the word as pre-cum leaked from the tip of his manhood.

She grasped him tighter, moving faster. He threw his head back in intense pleasure. Still holding him in her hand, she jumped down from the table and knelt before him. His eyes widened instantly.

She'd seen this before in movies. All she had to do was take him into her mouth and suck him like he was the greatest lollipop in the world.

And that was what she did. She took a tentative lick to the tip of his cock, hearing the loud gasp that escaped him mouth. His eyes were squeezed tight as she took him fully into her mouth and began to move her head.

"Fuck!"

Her head bobbed up and down his length, and she took him as deep as possible.

Suddenly he pulled away, leaving her mouth feeling empty. With a gentle hand, he guided her mouth to his and licked her lips, tasting himself on her. "You keep that up, and I won't be able to last more than a minute."

He scooped her up, carrying her upstairs to the bedroom. He threw her on the bed and shrugged out of his shorts quickly. She quickly kicked off her jeans and panties as he climbed onto the bed above her. He grabbed her arms and pinned them above her head as his lower half grinded into hers.

"Jacob," she moaned, turning into a pile of lust.

She was proving Paul wrong. He would fuck her. And he'd do it hard.

He dipped a finger into her moist center, twisting it and hooking it upwards so that he was pressing right onto her g-spot. She grasped his arms, the sensation completely new to her. "God!" she cried out, her body reacting in a positive way to his ministrations.

"Fuck, you're so wet…" he murmured.

He added another digit, intensifying her pleasure. She arched her back, pushing her perfect breasts into the air. It took some time for her to realize that she was fucking herself on his fingers.

But it felt so good. He withdrew his fingers, a disappointed whimper escaping her lips. "I know, baby." Jake murmured. "I'm gonna make you feel so fuckin' good. You trust me?"

"Uh-huh…"

He replaced his fingers with his mouth, his clever tongue lapping at the little bundle of nerves above her entrance. Bella clenched her thighs together, trapping his head. He chuckled lightly as he pinned back her thighs with his hands. He licked a stripe from her entrance to her clit, reveling in her surprised and pleasured whines and moans.

He dipped his tongue into her tight entrance, licking up the juices that flowed from her body. She arched her back, pushing herself into his mouth. Her hand wandered into his hair, gripping the dark locks tightly.

He sucked on her clit lightly as he inserted his finger into her once more. The double action of his finger rubbing against her sweet spot and his tongue swirling on her clit was too much for her to take. She let out a loud moan and convulsed around his fingers and mouth. He lapped up every single drop of her cum before sitting up and looking at her.

His lips were swollen and dripping with her cum. His hair was ruffled and his eyes were so lustful and sexual that she thought she'd die from the sight of him like that. "Baby, you taste amazing," he murmured. "See for yourself." He leaned down and kissed her, allowing her to taste her juices on his tongue. She moaned into his mouth, her nails scraping across his back.

He felt her take his heavy manhood into her hand and guide him to her entrance. "Are you sure?" he asked. "I don't want to force you into anything. You have to realize what you're getting yourself into—"

"Jake," Bella silenced him by pumping his member once. He inhaled sharply, choking on his breath. "I've never been more sure about something."

It was all he needed. He lined himself up with her and in one fluid thrust, he broke her virginal barrier and was up inside of her. She gasped in pain, clutching his biceps. He lay down on her, allowing her to adjust to his size. He rested his pelvis against hers, kissing away the single tear that escaped down her face.

"Are you hurt?" he asked. "Do you want me to stop?"

He didn't want to ask it, but he felt like it was the thing he should do. He didn't want to stop, and if he had to, he swore he'd fucking burst.

"I'm fine…I need you…" she replied, pushing at him. Her lips enveloped his as he thrust in and out of her, angling his hips so that he could touch her g-spot and give her pleasure as well. The pain was quickly replaced by pleasure as his cock rubbed against her in a way that had her loudly moaning for more.

Jake thrust harder, moaning and throwing his head back in pure rapture. "So good," he mumbled. "So wet, so fucking tight…"

The way she clenched around him every time a shockwave of pleasure cascaded through her body had him going ballistic for more. But he kept reminding himself to be gentle with her, this being her first time and all. He was holding back, and Bella could see it in his eyes.

Those eyes of his were black with lust and passion, and he was growling as his wolf began to hack into his control. "Say my name," he rasped.

"Jacob," she moaned loudly. Bella loved that he was a dirty talker. It was so erotic to her.

He threaded his fingers into hers and captured her lips again. Pinning her arms above her head, he angled himself deeper into her, making her cry out. The sensation was terrific; the way that she felt her womanhood burning with intense pleasure made her want so much more of him.

Electric coursed through her veins as she got closer and closer to the climax that would blow her mind.

"Fuck," he sped himself up a little, unable to control his lust for her.

"Let him go," Bella murmured. He looked down at her, trying to keep his control. "Let your wolf claim his mate and fuck her like the submissive she is."

Eyes rolling back into his head, he slammed into her at an unbelievably fast pace, giving her a feeling that she'd never felt before.

It was primal.

It was wild.

It was almost scary.

It was _Jacob._

"Ahhh…so wet," he murmured, the sound of his balls slapping against her wet thighs echoing throughout the room. "So tight! Virginal."

He rubbed her clit with his fingers as he pumped into her harder.

"Tell me you accept it," Jake growled, his eyes looking almost inhuman.

"I accept the imprint," she moaned, gripping his forearms.

"Louder! Fucking louder!" he squeezed her thighs tightly.

"I accept the imprint!" she cried. "Oh, Jake!"

She climaxed with his name on her lips. The extra lubrication and tightening of her walls triggered his climax as well, shooting white ribbons of seed into her. He collapsed on top of her, Bella's shaky fingers running down his muscled back.

His wolf was satisfied. _Very, very _satisfied.

He rolled himself off of her, his chest heaving with every breath he took. "Do you love me?"

"Of course I love you, Jake."

"Love you too, Bells. I love you so fucking much."

"Did you still want that pot pie?"

"Hell, honey. You don't even need to ask."

0o0o0o0o

Well, there it is. Please leave a review! I tried to update faster this time. I had a nice, long weekend, which was perfect for writing.

**So review!**

**Hugs and Smooches,**

**Courtney**

**Up Next: Strength- After what had happened between him and Bella, Jake can't find it in himself to stay away from her. When he thinks he has her, and that no one else can try anything with her, Paul proves him wrong. And Jake just doesn't have the strength not to kick his cocky-bastard ass.**


	10. Strength pt 1

**A/N: Hello, all of my readers. I'm sorry about such a long wait. I've not had any free time to write with school starting up again. Ugh, there's so much drama already and of course I'm in it :p**

**I hope you all stick with me. This chapter is very short, and I completely realize that. It's one of two parts, and I will add the second part shortly. I just wanted to get something up for you guys to read since I haven't been on in like, a millennia. Again, SORRY!**

**This week is SUPER busy for me and I have no idea when I'll get around to posting chapter 11, or part 2 of this chapter Strength. I'm estimating no later than next Sunday. I'm hoping to get it posted on Friday though because it's the only day I have free of school and cheerleading. Blech.**

**WARNING: Sexual content, and language. Please be cautioned, mature readers only.**

**So here's PART ONE of chapter ten.**

"Again, Paul? Really?" Bella put her hands on her hips and frowned at him.

"You look nice," he replied, hopping out of the car to greet her.

"Uh, thank you? I'm not quite sure what to think about you complimenting me." She climbed into the driver's seat, rummaging around in her purse for her keys. He walked around the other side of the car and silently climbed into the passengers seat.

"Are you sore?" he asked with genuine concern.

"Sore?" she asked. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You know, after Jake fucked ya that hard," he replied.

"What? You spied?" she nearly screamed at him in disgust.

"No," he simply said.

"Then how did you—"

"Wolf pack mind, remember? Didn't Jakey tell ya 'bout that one, baby girl?"

"He did," she responded, lowering her eyes in embarrassment. "What did you see exactly?"

"Everything," Paul said. "You're a sexy little thing in bed, y'know that?"

Bella flushed bright red, groaning softly in discomfort. She stuck the key in ignition and drove out of the parking lot.

"Aw, come on. You weren't embarrassed with Jake, so why with me?" he asked.

"You're not Jake, that's why," she sneered.

"Sometimes I wish I was Jake. If I had you, I'd have you screaming all night long. Think about our song, baby girl." Paul laid a warm hand on her upper thigh, making Bella flinch. "I'd make ya feel so good."

"Stop it," she scolded, moving his hand off of her thigh. "Don't do that to me, Paul."

"Don't believe me? Go ask all the girls I've fucked and they'll tell ya different," he barked at her.

"Why the hell are you getting angry with me?" she hissed at him, glaring at him through her peripheral vision.

"Because I don't understand why you won't give me a chance to impress you!" he exclaimed.

"Goddammit, Paul! I have a boyfriend and I'm his imprint. We made love last night, and he took my virginity. I'm sure you don't even know how to make love. All you do is screw and fuck." Bella growled.

"I can learn…for you."

"You're out of your league. I'm not a whore to be used. You don't know how to treat a woman properly." Bella's knuckles turned white on the steering wheel.

"You can teach me."

She snorted. "As if," she began. "You're not Jake, and you never will be. I'm glad I lost my virginity to him instead of to you. Guaranteed I would have regretted it with you."

He didn't think the comment would strike him as it did, and he was surprised at the impact it had on him. He sighed in defeat.

"Jake's water, and we're both fire, baby. Water extinguishes fire. Fire with fire equals the brightest flame you'll ever see." Paul explained.

"No, fire with fire creates the biggest disaster you'd ever see. It would burn everything. Ruin…everything." Bella replied.

"Come on. We'd be great together."

"You're ridiculous, Lahote. There's no way." Bella pulled into her driveway and pulled the key out of the ignition.

He said nothing for a few moments. She glanced over at him in wonder, considering the fact that Paul rarely ever shut up. He always had something to say. He was distantly gazing out the window, his eyes glossy with wetness.

"What the hell's wrong with you?" she cried out, panicked. "Are you…are you crying?"

He opened the truck door and stormed out the side. She followed him.

"Paul. Paul! Stop!" she grabbed him by the shoulder and whirled him around.

His face was twisted into an evil frown, his eyes blackening with fury. There were no tears on his face. He was sizzling hot, heating up with every second that she foolishly stood before him.

Bella knew the look on his face. It matched the contorted features of Jake when he first showed her how he phased. She quickly walked to the porch of her cabin, stumbling onto the wooden steps.

He laughed in a loathsome way, his face still contorted angrily. "Yeah, run from me, you skinny, paleface bitch."

She told herself not to fret over him. "Paul, calm down."

"What's wrong, baby girl? You afraid of the big bad wolf?" He took a menacing step towards her, dangling on the edge of phasing.

"Please Paul, stop it." She remembered the story that Jake had told her about Sam getting so angry with Emily that he phased for the first time in the kitchen and nearly tore his imprint's face off.

"No way," he replied.

"You're scaring me!" she cried, sweat beads beginning to form on her skin.

"Good."

"What'll it take, huh?" Bella flapped her hands wildly, becoming more and more nervous with each step that he took.

He halted, thinking about all that he could possibly do with this question. "Have sex with me. You know, try me out."

"No! Paul, come on. Are you kidding me?

"No."

"I'm not going to have sex with you." Bella firmly stated.

"Then kiss me."

"I'm with Jake. Why are you trying to make me cheat on him?" she asked him.

"Because I hate him." Paul snarled his response.

"So you're using me to get back at him?" she folded her arms and raised her eyebrows in astonishment.

"No. I hate him because you took you. He fucking imprinted on you…and now I won't ever stand a chance against those damned wolfy claims of his. Y'know, he said once that he never wanted to imprint because it took away our chances of actually meeting someone and falling in love with time." The muscled man said, running a copper toned arm through his cropped black hair.

"You don't know how to love," she countered.

"I'm going to change, Bella."

"What are you saying, Paul?" she questioned him, twisting the end of her shirt nervously.

"I think I might love you."

"You think?"

"No…I know that I love you." Paul corrected himself.

"Seriously?" she asked, her eyes nearly falling out of their sockets. "_You_ love _me_?"

"You act like you're not fucking beautiful," he snorted.

She wrinkled her nose at him. "What's up with you? Did you imprint on me too?"

"No."

"Then you'll imprint sooner or later and forget all about me, Paul," she reasoned.

"How could I forget about you?" he asked, nodding his head towards her.

"Just leave it alone, alright?"

"Kiss me."

"Paul, no. You go on ahead and find yourself another lady, and you can kiss her all you want." Bella tried the keys in the lock of her door.

"I'm not leaving until you kiss me." He was on her porch now, lingering two feet away from her.

"No," she jiggled the lock, but it gave no way.

"Come on, baby. Kiss me. It's as easy as _one_…" He pressed himself up against her back, pinning her to the door. He was planning on seducing her, and he would prove to her that she did want him.

"_Two_…" he whispered into her ear, his warm lips trailing up and down her neck. She struggled in his grasp, but he held her in his locked-tight grip.

"_Three_." He spun her around and planted his lips on hers. Bella, taken aback, felt his lips move on hers; she was too shocked to even move.

Something inside of her snapped when Paul forced her mouth open with his. She shoved him backwards roughly.

"Babe, what are you—"

_CRACK!_

Paul held his sizzling cheek in his hand as Bella unlocked the door. "You disgust me, Paul Lahote."

She slammed the door in his face.

He honestly didn't know whether to break down and cry or whether to smash her door down with his angry fists.

_That girl. _Never in his life had he failed to seduce any woman.

_So much dignity._ Never had a woman dared slap him for any reason.

_Doesn't she know I'm a monster?_ No one played with him like that without serious consequences.

He growled loudly and stormed off of the porch and into the forest.

0o0o0o0o

She'd slammed the door in his face after she'd slapped him. Jake swelled with pride for his woman. She was his, and his only.

The fact that Paul tried to seduce his imprint made him hate his pack brother even more than he already did—if that was even possible. He stepped up to her porch, seeing her front door slightly open. "Bells?" he called. There was no sound.

He pushed the front door open and stepped inside, taking in his surroundings. Then he smelled it—that distinct aroma of her arousal. He followed the scent like a hound up her stairs and saw her lying on her queen sized bed bottomless.

Her fingers dipped into that fine, little hole of hers. He wished he were those fingers. She moaned softly into her pillow, shutting her eyes in pleasure as she rode the waves of her climax. When she opened her eyes, she had a near heart attack.

"Oh my God! Jacob!" She closed her legs, hiding her naked flesh from his eyes, much to his dismay. Tears of embarrassment and guilt leaked from her eyes. She clutched her pillow threw it over herself in attempt to cover as much skin as she possibly could.

"How long have you been standing there?"

"A while now," he admitted.

Her face reddened. "You know," she stated. Bella could see it in his eyes.

"I'm sorry that it happened," he said.

She stared at him for a moment, trying to read him. Slowly, tears leaked from her eyes until she burst into tears and collapsed against the bed. He looked at her in shock, slowly moving to sit by her. "I didn't mean for it to happen, Jake!" she sobbed pitifully. "He…he just…"

"Shh, honey," Cradling her in his arms, "It's okay. I'm sorry because I wasn't there to stop him. Paul's a horny bastard that will fuck anyone he sees." Jake smirked a little.

Bella sniffled, as Jake wiped her tears away with his thumb.

"Hell, I'd bet he'd grab an old lady on the streets and fuck 'er if he was feelin' that horny." Jake said. Bella cracked a smile, giggling softly.

"He would, wouldn't he?" she laughed lightly.

"I bet."

"How come your not mad at me, Jake?" she asked him. "I felt like I cheated."

"But you didn't. You slapped him." He snorted, remembering the surprised look on Paul's face when her hand connected with his skin. "I'm fuckin' proud of you for that, Bells."

She rubbed her legs together, feeling more arousal drip from her core. "Proud of me?"

"Yeah." Jake said, laying a hand on the pillow that shielded her flesh from his eyes. "Proud of every single piece of you." He removed the pillow slowly, allowing it to reveal the glorious wet mound slowly and gradually.

She clamped her legs shut when he touched her there, making him growl and force them apart. With his knees, he pinned her thighs to the bed and kept her in place. "This," he cupped her mound and rubbed his thumb in a small circular motion making her gasp and throw her head back. "Is mine."

He leaned down and ran his clever tongue from her entrance to her clit, making her shudder and moan. "All fucking mine!" he sucked on her skin lightly, pulling it into his mouth and letting it fall back into place easily.

_There it is, _Bella thought. The possessive wolf was coming out in him. Jacob wasn't angry, but his wolf certainly was.

"He can't fucking touch you," he crooked his finger and jammed it onto her g-spot. She convulsed, her back arching and pushing her breasts into the air. "Not like I can."

He added another digit, stretching her wider. She moaned louder as she began to fuck herself on his fingers.

"Come for me. Show Paul whose girl you are." Jake growled, slapping her thigh as he thrust his fingers harder.

"Oh, Jake!" she moaned, standing on the brink of her climax."

"Say it! Whose girl are you? C'mon Bella, fucking scream it! Tell the whole damn world."

"I'm yours! I'm all yours, Jake…all yours!" She cried out as she came on his fingers, watching how his eyes grew wider and blacker as the scent of her arousal intensified completely.

"Fuck," he moaned. Quickly unzipping his pants, he flipped his member out and impaled her with one quick thrust. "I need you to show me."

**0o0o0o0o**

**That's all for now, folks. If you want me to update quick and post the second part of this chapter, y'all better REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!**

**Hugs and Smooches, **

**Courtney**

**Up Next: Strength Pt. 2-****After what had happened between him and Bella, Jake can't find it in himself to stay away from her. When he thinks he has her, and that no one else can try anything with her, Paul proves him wrong. And Jake just doesn't have the strength not to kick his cocky-bastard ass.**


	11. Strength 2

**Hello all, I'm back with a brand new chapter for you. This chapter is a bit angsty, I won't lie. Remember that this is AU and OOC and I can basically do anything I want with this plot :) But please don't get mad at me for what Jake says!**

**I'm expecting updates to come every few weeks. I am actually really super busy with all of my schoolwork and my outside activities and I apologize for not having a chapter up as frequently as I had up in the summer. This was the second part to STRENGTH, the previous chapter, so I'm sorry that it's a bit short. Enjoy anyways!**

**Immature Readers: Beware of the language in this chapter. It's not as bad as most, but I'm still putting a warning out there.**

**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns everything but the plot.**

**Dedicate this chapter to GEML. Love ya girlie!**

**Chapter 11: Strength (Part Two)**

"She's mine!" he growled, slamming Paul up against the garage door. "You can't fucking touch my imprint."

"She wanted it." Paul said, still grinning.

"You forced her!"

"Is that why she came after I touched her? She may not have wanted it in her mind, but her body was practically beggin'. My pheromones were running wild."

Jake looked at him with fury in his eyes. He landed a punch on Paul's smug face, hearing the sickening crack that it made. He'd broken Paul's nose. He stood back in satisfaction as the other man held his nose in his hands.

Blood seeped from his fingers, but he wiped it away quickly. "Your turn, Black." Paul said and delivered a punch to his abdomen. He doubled over, clutching his middle in pain and loss of breath.

Paul smeared the blood away from his face with the back of his hand. He hated him. Paul watched Jacob get up and assume his fighting stance. Lahote swung, and missed.

Jacob grabbed his hand, and shoved him backwards. Paul stumbled over a rock and fell flat on his ass, allowing Jacob to hit him square in the jaw.

Jake heard the crack of bone as Lahote's jaw crunched together in a painful way. The other man scrambled to his feet and charged at his opponent and delivered a fake punch to his abdomen, which Jacob predicted. But before Paul could touch him, he switched his fists and planted his left fist on Jake's eye.

0o0o0o0o

Sam had heard the commotion from all the way across the Res. He'd seen into Paul's mind once and saw the disturbing image of him and Bella on the porch of Bella's cabin. He was touching her, feeling her up.

And if Lahote had touched Emily like that after Sam had 'confirmed' the imprint with her, he too would have been furious. And he'd known Jacob Black since he was a young child. He was always a daring kid that wasn't afraid to defend himself.

Jared tagged along beside him. Though Jacob was normally his second hand man, Jared was subbing for his absence. Sam understood how hard it was to be away from an imprint in the first few months. With Emily, he'd constantly worried about how she was and couldn't keep his thoughts from drifting off to Emily-land.

"I see 'em!" Jared cried out, pointing at the pair wrestling on the meadow floor. They both raced ahead to separate the two angry guys. Jared grabbed Paul, and Sam pulled a bloody Jacob away.

"Fuck!" Jacob cursed, struggling in Sam's strong arms. "Let me at him. He needs a good ass kicking!"

Jared snickered softly, receiving a dirty glare from Paul. Sam tightened his grip as Jacob fought to get away.

"Jacob Black!" Sam hissed. "I command you to stop. Stop the struggling, stop the screaming. Now."

Jake instantly calmed, shutting his mouth and stopping the struggling. The alpha command could tell him to do anything. Sam let out a long breath, relaxing his grip on Jacob's arms.

Paul laughed obnoxiously, causing Jacob to growl loudly. "Same goes for you, Paul. Now somebody tell me what the hell's going on?" Sam asked.

"He's trying to steal my fucking imprint." Jacob said.

"I don't need to try, kid." Paul spat.

_Kid?_ Jacob thought. Paul was around the same age as Jacob.

"She hates you," seethed Jake. "I heard her say it."

"More like you made her say it," retorted Paul. "while you were fucking her brains out. We see Mister-Dominating-Wolfie, don't you know?"

Jacob's face went white. That meant he saw Bella's gorgeous body naked. He was going to kick his ass into hell.

Sam and Jared listened in interest as Jacob and Paul verbally battled it out.

[Never knew Jake was rough during his play time. Thought he'd be Mister Gentle, y'know?] said Jared.

[Yeah. 'Specially when she's all he ever thinks about.]

An image of a moaning Bella flashed through their minds as Jacob's mind drifted back to Bella once more.

[It's nice, sometimes. Having this pack mind,] reasoned Jared.

[Sometimes. I try to keep my thoughts hidden when I'm with Emily though.] Sam told the other wolf.

Sam was jerked away from his mind-conversation with Jared as Jacob began struggling again. "Alright, alright!" He released Jacob and shoved him towards the woods. "Go home to Bella. Now."

Jake growled menacingly at Paul before shapeshifting and darting out towards the little cabin in the woods.

0o0o0o0o

Bella rushed to get the door as someone rapidly beat on it. She swung open the door, eyes nearly popping out of her head.

"Where are your clothes?" she asked.

"Gone."

Jacob Black waltzed into her cabin butt-naked, putting that glorious copper body on display for her to see. He walked over to her refrigerator and opened the door, peering inside.

"Oh." She began to feel slightly aroused at the sight of his muscles flexing as he grabbed a can of Pepsi from the fridge and popped the top open.

"Are you okay?" she questioned.

"No."

She reached out to stroke his arm, but he moved away quickly with rage in his eyes. "Don't touch me. I don't want to hurt you."

"What the hell happened to you?" Bella said, seeing the blue and black bruises covering his skin, and the black eye he harbored on his left eye. His lip was split and blood was smeared on his hands.

"Nothing."

"You lie. Did you get into a fight with Paul?"

"Don't even say his name," Jacob growled, his black eyes flashing menacingly. "I swear I'll go mad if I hear that bastard's name again."

"I thought you said you weren't mad!" Bella protested.

"That was before I knew all of the disgusting things he was planning on doing," he growled.

"But he didn't-"

"Don't give me that shit, Bella! You should know what he's capable of!"

"I do know what he's capable of."

"Bullshit! Are you fucking blind or something? It's clear that he wants you, and you practically throw yourself at him with the way you act all friendly 'round 'im!"

"I do not!" she protested, putting her hands on her hips. "I pushed him away!"

"Then you touched yourself 'cause you thought it was hot, eh?"

"I can't believe you!" Bella cried, throwing her hands in the air.

"Well you did," Jake seethed.

"You didn't seem to mind when you were fucking me afterwards!"

"Well, it was either that or this! Which would you prefer?"

"You're being an ass, Jake! Why are you acting so ridiculous?"

"I wasn't even supposed to imprint on you! It was always imprinting on Quileute women, and you don't look a drop Quileute to me!" He tossed the empty can of soda away with all of his unearthly strength, and it struck the beautiful drawing framed on the coffee table.

They watched it fall onto the wooden floor, the golden frame shattering, glass shards glittering the floor. Bella gasped.

She walked slowly to meet the mess of the framed drawing. She picked up the sheet, pricking her finger on a small glass shard. She flinched and brought her fingertip to her lips, her tongue laving at the wound.

He leaned forwards, the imprint bonds making him instantly worried about the small cut. "Honey, let me see it,"

He reached for her arm, but she quickly jerked away. He sighed, tears wetting his eyes, but not spilling. She scampered away to the kitchen, pulling out a dustpan and kneeling towards the mess of the frame.

He watched her clean it up.

He watched her smooth out the drawing, laying it on the coffee table, trying her best to restore its beauty.

She frowned when it wasn't working. The picture was crumpled and ripped too badly from all of the glass shards ripping its fragile paper surface.

With a groan, she crumpled the drawing and thrust it into the fire. His eyes widened and he instantly stood in shock.

_She loved my drawing, _he thought. _Why would she burn it?_

She stared into the fire, watching the paper shrivel and burn in the flames. A tear slid down her cheek.

He stared at her for what seemed like forever, a slow, dull ache in his heart. His wolf was an upset mess inside, but the human Jake was trying to keep it together.

"You don't want me?" she asked him softly, her voice no louder than a mere whisper. "You didn't want me?"

"I never said that."

"Yes. You did."

He stood, wrapping a blanket around his midsection. A tear leaked down his bruised face. "You know I love you."

He reached for her again, and to his dismay, she jerked away abruptly. She walked to end of the room, staring at the blackened slip of paper that was once the beautiful drawing.

Tears fell down his face freely, his wolf's emotion combining with his. He couldn't hold it in any longer. "Please, Bella. _Please_."

"Don't."

"I don't want to lose you!" he groaned, tears leaking down his face. "I can't lose you."

"Why not?" she questioned.

"You're too important to me. I need you, Bells." Jake replied.

"Go home, Jacob."

"I can't."

"Go home!" she repeated louder, her hands balling into fists.

"I won't." He stood at her couch, staring at her. "I'm sorry for the things I said. I...I was just angry and upset. I didn't mean it."

Bella just stared at him emotionlessly, her face wet with tears. Her shoulders droopedc and she unfolded her arms slowly. "I...just go home."

"No, I won't," he protested.

"Please!" Bella sobbed, tears pouring down her face. "I can't deal with this tonight!"

"What happened?" he asked, moving slowly towards her.

"I want you to leave. Please." It wasn't true-she didn't want him to leave at all. She wanted him to wrap her in his arms and show her love and support...but all she got was arguing.

"Not before you tell me what's wrong."

She shook her head reluctantly. The suspence was eating him from the inside out. What had his imprint so upset?

"Tell me," he raised his voice an octave, making her coil back in surprise.

"My mother died!" Bella blurted out, catching him off guard. "She had a heart attack a week ago. I just got the call this morning...my step dad decided to have the funeral without me."

She collapsed against the wall, gripping her hair. Jake started, completely astonished by her words.

"I wanted to tell you tonight. But you came in and started a fight with me about Paul. You should know I love you! You should know that! The last words I said to my mother were 'I hate you.'" Bella cried. "She didn't know that I loved her. _You do_."

"Honey, I'm so sorry." He went to embrace her. He was expecting to be pushed away, but she let his warmth surround her.

Black mascara tears painted her ivory flesh as Jake joined her side. Outside, another storm was brewing. Thunder could be heard about a mile away. The soft 'plunk' of the raindrops on the wood was relaxing.

Jake knew he wouldn't go out into the woods and back to Billy's. He'd already decided that this was where he belonged. With her.

**0o0o0o0o**

**Thanks for tuning in! More soon!**

**Review! Review, review, REVIEW!**

**Hugs and Smooches,**

**Courtney Howlett**

**Up Next: Wounds- All wounds heal. Bella tends to Jake's wounds while he tends to hers. **


	12. Wounds

**Hi, I'm back with a brand new chapter. Lately I've been having the inspiration to write with all of the kind reviews I've been receiving. People have been telling me that this story has so much potential. I love you, my beautiful people!**

**Have any questions or suggestions? PM or review. I love to hear from you all.**

**The song used in the chapter is called "Pretty Woman" by Roy Orbison. I love those oldies ;)**

**Disclaimer: SM owns all, I own nothing but the plot.**

**Chapter 12:**

Bella dabbed at Jake's bloody lip while he held a bag of frozen peas to his black eye. He hissed in pain when she touched a sensitive spot on his skin, the frozen peas dropping into her lap.

"Sorry," she replied, handing him back the frozen peas. He was shirtless before her, bruises and scarlet red scratches all over his copper skinned body. Her eyes skimmed over a deep cut on his left bicep. "Think you might need stitches…"

"I don't need stitches," he retorted quickly.

"It's deep, Jake. Stitches will let it heal." Bella told him.

"I heal fast. I'm a werewolf remember? These," he gestured to the scrapes and bruises he had. "will all be gone tomorrow. I guarantee it."

"Fine. Don't heal."

Jake stood, running a hand through his short black hair. Glancing down at her, he saw the faraway look in her eyes. She looked worn-down this morning; bags under her eyes, her face much paler than usual, and her tangled hair thrown into a messy bun on top of her head.

When she'd awoken from sleep that morning, she'd noticed that he was no longer beside her. It felt cold, and empty. But the scent of scrambled eggs and crispy bacon lured her out to the kitchen where her Mr. Sun was making breakfast. Bella changed into a blue V-neck and black sweat pants before sitting down with him to eat.

Gulping, "Look, Bells...I'm sorry about what happened last night. I had no idea that your mother—"

"I don't want to talk about it," she interjected, setting down the wet rag that she used to treat his lip. She didn't want to bring up the subject of her mother's death. Charlie had heard the same day as Bella had, and called her up that night to see how she was coping.

She remembered her father's words, _"I'll flay him alive, Bells. What he did…was unforgivable."_

She forgot how much she missed Charlie and her home life, and her friends from Fork High. Sometimes she wished she could just go back to the past, when things were just…normal. Civil.

"It wasn't fair of me to come over and start yelling at you, though." Jake said apologetically. She nodded her head at him, eyebrows rising in agreement. "And ruin the picture I drew of you…and the picture frame…" He nervously played with his fingers, looking down at his bare feet.

"It's fine," she stiffly replied.

"You're still angry with me, aren't you?" he groaned inwardly.

"No," said Bella.

"You're lying."

"Yup." She brought the rag back up to his face, wiping away the beads of sweat that formed there. "I'm upset that you think I would cheat on you with Paul."

"I realize it. I realize that you'd never do that now. I want you to forgive me," he said.

"I forgive you."

"I want you to mean it, Bells."

"I do mean it."

"You don't, and I know that. Maybe this will help." Jake reached into his pocket and pulled out a beautiful necklace. In the middle of the necklace hung a charm; a little werewolf carved intricately out of wood.

She took the necklace, inspecting it. She looked at him with hardened eyes. "You really think a necklace will make everything better?" she asked him honestly.

"I did," he reasoned.

She held the necklace in her hands a moment longer, before the corners of her lips tugged up a little, no more than a centimeter. The little contraption was truly beautiful and it touched her that he'd take the time to make it for her. "Did you make it?"

"Yes. I carve…sometimes."

"Yet another hobby I had no idea of." She unclasped the necklace and put it around her neck, allowing the wooden werewolf to fall just above her breasts.

"It looks great on you," Jake complimented her.

Sighing, her shoulders drooped and some of the hard feelings towards him fell. "It really is beautiful, Jake."

"You're beautiful," he said in return.

She blushed as if she was being compared to the beautiful Greek goddess Aphrodite. She was afraid she'd say something completely stupid—so she settled with saying nothing at all. Jake drummed his fingers on the table, waiting. Waiting for something that he didn't know of just yet.

They both stayed completely silent a dwelling period of time. It was so quiet that they could hear the wind whistling a tune outside, the heartbeat of the wall clock, and the soft dripping sound of her leaky faucet.

He licked his lips, his dark eyes falling on hers. She stared at him long and hard for a few seconds before breaking the intense gaze and looking towards the window, watching the wind dishevel the leaves of the trees.

"I want you to forgive me," he said once more, his voice pleading.

"I forgive you," she repeated.

"And do you mean it this time, Bells?" he questioned, his hand sliding onto hers. She gasped; it was so warm compared to her own. He squeezed her hand tightly, making her turn a brighter color of red.

She looked up at him, locking eyes with Jake. "Yes."

0o0o0o0o

"You are Da Vinci," Bella said, glancing at the notepad. "Who taught you?"

"I taught myself," he replied, rubbing a pencil mark on the paper with his finger in order to make it look slightly smeared. She reached out to touch the drawing, but he pulled it back quickly.

"Stay still," he said. "This needs to be perfect."

"It already _is_ perfect," she replied, moving her arm back into the position it was previously in. "It looks just like me."

"No," he murmured, shaking his head in disagreement. He scribbled some more, biting his lip and furrowing his brow in concentration. "Nothing can compare to your beauty. But I'm trying to get as close to it as possible."

"How original," Bella laughed. "How many movies have you watched?"

"Many. Rachel is particularly a fan of that movie with the ship. Forget what it's called again…the redhead girl and the blonde guy…"

"Titanic?"

"Bingo."

"Is this drawing an inspiration from Titanic?" Bella asked. "Me with the necklace on…and just the necklace on…?"

He looked up, his face reddening slightly. "Possibly." His pencil moved furiously, sculpting her body on the piece of paper.

Her hand moved slightly to brush a piece of hair out of her mouth. Jacob frowned, seeing her through his peripheral vision, yet never taking his eyes off of the paper. "Bella, I told you to—"

"I know, I know. Stay _still._" She put her hand back on her hip and locked eyes with Jake.

"I'm almost done," he told her, his pencil moving faster across the paper. "Hang in there."

"I am."

The final pencil strokes were completed and he handed the drawing to her. She sat up on the lounge chair and examined it.

"You _are_ Da Vinci," came her breathy reply. "You are. I swear of it."

Jake set the pencil and notepad aside, gazing at her as she laid there in her complete vulnerability on the lounger. "And what are you, my Mona Lisa?"

"No," she shook her head as if it were the most ridiculous question she'd been asked in her life. "I told you before, Jacob Black. I'm your Bella Lisa."

"Yes, I remember now." Jake spoke, smiling a little. "You're my masterpiece."

0o0o0o0o

"I want you to try it," Bella said, forcing the spoon towards him.

"I'm not a fan of raspberries," he said, backing away from the spoon.

"It's amazing. You'll love it." She slumped against the bark of the tree, watching the sun sink lower into the trees. She spooned herself another bit of raspberry jelly, watching as the clouds rolled past slowly.

He took the spoon out of her hand when she wasn't looking, startling her. Popping it into his mouth, he tasted the sweet substance, swirling it around his tongue. "You're right."

"Aren't I always?" asked Bella.

Jacob snorted, handing the spoon back to her.

"Can you taste the colors of the sunset?" she whispered to him softly.

"What?" he asked her.

"I asked you if you can taste the colors of the sunset."

"Where did that come from?" he asked her in astonishment.

"When I was little, my favorite movie was Pocahontas." Bella replied with a smile.

"Oh." It was the stereotypical thing for a pale face to say, but he didn't take offense to it. "No, I've never tasted the colors of the sunset. Have you?"

"No. But I imagine that it would taste like raspberry jelly." She pointed to a part of the sky that was colored a dark reddish-purple. "And a bit of orange crème, as well as strawberry with a little bit of lemon drop on the top of it all."

"That sounds nice," he told her with a smile. "Like frozen yogurt."

"I like that too."

The wind whistled through the trees and through the valley. Jake looked over at Bella, who was distracting herself with her jelly.

"You know, this was my favorite place to come when I was little." Jake remarked. "This cliff was my secret getaway."

"But there are plenty of cliffs around here." Bella told him. "What makes this one so special?"

"Look at the view, Bells." Jake said incredulously. The whole of the Res could be seen from the cliff's edge. The water sparkled beneath the setting sun. "That's why."

0o0o0o0o

"Hurry, Bells, turn it up!" he fumbled with the volume button, blasting the oldies music in her rusty old truck.

_Pretty woman walking the street_

_Pretty woman, the kind I'd like to meet_

_Pretty woman_

_I don't believe you, you're not the truth_

"_No one could look as good as you,_" Jake sang loudly and off key. "Mercy!"

"I didn't think you were into the Oldies," Bella laughed, watching him move to the beat in her rusty old truck. She suspected it was around midnight when they left the cliff. The stars glistened down on the road ahead of them, the warm nighttime air floating through the windows.

"This is a classic!" he exclaimed. "C'mon Bells, sing!"

"_Pretty woman, won't you pardon me, pretty woman I couldn't help but see pretty woman,"_ Bella murmured to the beat, trying to focus on the road instead of her vocals.

"_That you look lovely as can be, are you lonely just like me?"_ She found him to be staring directly at her with his large, dark eyes. She laughed.

He reached over grabbing her hand and let loose a low growl, the vibrations sending shocks of electricity to her core.

"Now we sing together," Jake said.

"No, Jake I can't sing—"

"_Pretty woman stop a while_," he sang. Looking over at her, he urged her to sing the next verse with him.

"_Pretty woman talk a while_," she reluctantly sang, still uncomfortable of the thought of him hearing her bad singing voice.

"_Pretty woman give your smile to me_!" He glanced over at her and gave her his most beautiful grin. She couldn't help but smile back at him.

Soon, Bella was into the song more than he was, singing at the top of her lungs as if she were drunk.

_Cause I need you_

_I'll treat you right_

_Come with me, baby_

_Be mine tonight_

She pulled into her gravel driveway, turning the vehicle off.

"My dad used to sing that very song to my mom when I was little. All the time." Jacob spoke up. "I used to sing along as well. But those three verses, the three verses that you and I sang together were just for my mom and dad to sing."

She stayed silent, remembering that Jacob's mom died in a car crash when he was seven or eight.

"See?" he asked. "I'm not the only one whose mom died. I get you, Bells. I get what you're going through."

"Do you?" she said.

"I do. But I have your back, honey. You're my imprint-and that means you're stuck with me for the rest of your life. And that song? It's ours now." Jake grinned at her, laying a warm hand over hers.

"There's no getting rid of you, is there?" she asked him jokingly.

"Find me someone better than you." Jake said. "And that won't ever happen. Sorry babe, but you're all mine now."

He kissed her with brutal force, his werewolf strength getting out of hand. She squealed, letting loose a small laugh. Breaking the kiss, she exited the truck and made her way towards the porch of her cabin.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked, her eyebrows raised. His eyes were locked tight on her chest, the soft browns of his irises turning black with lust almost instantly.

"You're beautiful," he told her for the millionth time that day. But this time it meant so much more.

"You want it? Come and get it."

"Don't tempt me," he growled lowly. "I might just take you up on that offer."

She bit her lip, glancing at the door. Racing inside, she beckoned him. He darted off after her, anxiously awaiting the hour of play that he'd been craving for days.

0o0o0o0o

**That's it for now, guys. I tried to update sooner.**

**_REVIEW,_ if you want me to update faster if you're REALLY craving what's coming up next. Love you all!**

**Hugs and Smooches,**

**Courtney Howlett**

**Up Next: Bonds- It's the weekend of Emily's party. Both Jake and Bella get unexpected visitors, and someone feels the sheer force of the "imprint" on First Beach for the _first_ time.**


	13. Cool-Aid

**Hey guys! I've actually decided to push Chapter 13 back. The new chapter is called "Cool-Aid." I wasn't satisfied with having that one particular person imprint so soon, so I decided to rewrite. Everything else in the teaser will remain the same. I was really pleased with all of the lovely feedback I'd been receiving. I think you guys will enjoy this chapter.**

**I also think I might stop putting the teasers. I had most of this story written out before, but just recently I decided that I didn't really like the way I wrote most of the later bits. So I'm changing it to make it better, and I can't really predict what I'll want in the next chapter. Sorry!**

**Chapter 13: **

"Hey, you!" Bella greeted, pulling Seth in for a hug. "What are you…"

The sight of Leah Clearwater standing beside her brother came as a surprise to Bella. She instantly stuck out her hand for Leah to take. "It's nice to meet you, Leah. I'm Bella."

"I know who you are." Leah replied stiffly. Seth looked up at her hopefully.

[Flashback]

_ "Come on, Leah. Cabin girl's not like Kim and Emily. Trust me." Seth claimed._

_ "Don't give me that shit. If she's not already like them, she will be soon. I don't need friends," Leah countered angrily. "So stop trying to live my life for me."_

_ "I'm not!" he cried. "Bella's kind and caring, and she even plays nice with Paul. Just come and meet her with me."_

_ "No."_

_ "Please, Lee-lee." Seth begged his older sister. It will be good for you to have a friend like Bella around. If you can't do this for yourself…at least do it for me…your little brother."_

_ Leah sighed, looking into her brother's puppy eyes. "Let me think about it."_

[End of Flashback]

"C-Can I come in?" Leah questioned, changing her demeanor entirely. Bella's turned from befuddled to welcoming.

"Sure can," she cheerily replied. "Mi casa es su casa."

Leah was surprised at Bella's sudden kindness to her. Ever since she and Sam had broken up and she'd become this grouch, no female had been nice to her except her mother. And Sue didn't count.

Bella watched Leah and Seth look around her home. "It's a lot cleaner than last time I was here," Seth nudged Bella in the side and grinned.

"Thanks to you, I will never forget that jelly-incident." Bella commented, kissing Seth's forehead. The young boy's eyes widened and his face seemed to glow with pride.

Leah walked over to the counter and looked over the other woman's shoulder to see her crushing nuts furiously. "What are you making?" she asked. Bella jumped, turning around to face her instantly.

"Oh, uh, hickory nut pie. I'm making it for the party tomorrow. I signed up to make all this food, and now I'm kinda regretting it." Bella chuckled lightly, looking back at her guest.

"What party?" Leah questioned.

"Oh, my welcoming party. Y'know, into the imprint club. It's on First Beach tomorrow at eight." Bella replied absentmindedly, cracking stirring a bit more sugar into the mix.

"I wasn't invited," she mused, glancing back at her brother. "Wait, let me guess. Emily's hosting it?"

"Yeah," Bella replied. "Seth didn't tell you?"

Seth gulped, backing into the corner. "No," said Leah, giving him an evil look. "I never get invited to those things anymore."

Bella stopped mixing her batter. She turned around with her hands on her hips. "And why not? You seem like a nice person."

"Emily doesn't like it," Leah hissed. "She thinks that Sam will come back with me since the only thing that's keeping her in his life is the imprint. And she knows that if the imprint was ever broken, Sam would come running back to me."

"So basically imprinting ruined your life?" Bella gaped.

"Basically," Leah agreed with the nod of her head. "Jared sat next to Kim for a year in school and never noticed her until he phased. Something tells me that Jared would have never gone for that bitch if he'd had a choice."

Bella threw down her baking spoon in anger. "Well you _are_ invited to my party."

"Cool," Seth grinned. "It'll be good for Lee to have some fun."

Leah still wasn't convinced. "But Sam—"

"It's not Sam's party, is it? No! It's mine. Emily said so. Jake, and the boys said so. Right, Sethy?" Bella looked over at the young boy.

"Right, Cabin babe—I mean, girl."

Leah crossed her arms over her chest before letting out a defeated sigh. "Okay. But as long as I get to help you with the food."

"As long as you can help me…? Leah, I think we're going to be great friends," Bella grinned as the beautiful, copper-toned girl joined her at her side and began to help her in the task of crushing the hickory nuts.

"Really?" she asked.

"Really," came the pale girl's reply. "Let's make this a competition."

"How?" Leah asked.

"Can I join too?" Seth chimed in.

Bella spread the pie crust into the dish and smirked. "Easy. Claire told me how much Emily and Kim loved to cook and how flustered they'd be if someone out-cooked them."

"I like you, Bella." Leah said, a wide grin spreading over her face.

"Me too!" chirped Seth.

"You twit." Leah growled, pinching Seth's hip. The younger boy hissed at his older sister, cowering towards Bella. She handed him a bowl full of cool-whip.

"Mix it?" Seth asked, grabbing a spoon from the corner. Bella nodded.

"Yup. Nice and fluffy, if you please."

0o0o0o0o

"Whoa, how much food did you bring?" Jake asked, practically drooling at just the sight of the pies, cakes, and meals.

"A lot more than I was supposed to," Bella cut in, handing him some of the bags of food. "Well, I had Lee there to help me so it went a lot faster."

"Lee?"

Jacob's jaw dropped when he saw Leah and Seth Clearwater exit Bella's red Chevy. Leah flipped her short black hair as she came to Bella's side. He swore that he hadn't seen Leah in a decade. "Hey Jake," she said.

"Hey," Jake replied, still shocked that Leah was even standing in front of him.

"I'm sorry about the fight we had at the bonfire. I was just having a really bad day." Leah apologized.

Jake nodded as Seth rammed into him playfully. "Jake, man!" the younger boy cried in excitement.

"Hey, kid." Jake greeted, handing him Bella's bags of food instantly. Seth stumbled back in surprise from all the food he was carrying.

"Thanks," Seth muttered.

Jacob went to Bella's side, wrapping his arms around her from behind. She jumped slightly as she turned with her pies in her hands. Leah had a pie balanced on top of two cake containers.

Bella handed Jake the hickory nut pie and smiled. "Made this one just for you," she said. Jacob radiated with happiness. No one had a better woman than he did. She gave him love, and food. Holy hell.

The four walked down to the party on First Beach. Emily had decorated some of the rocks with golden Christmas lights. There were wooden tables set up with food that Kim, Emily and Claire had made. The fire in the middle was roaring with life, heating up the beach.

"Bella!" Embry waved. "Loca!"

Bella waved back instantly. Once they reached the bottom of the rocks with the food, everyone bombarded them with greeting. Leah stood to the side of the crowd awkwardly, remembering that she used to be Bella once...that was, when she was with Sam. She couldn't help but long for the time when Sam was by her side, just like Jake was at Bella's.

"Leah?" Quil questioned, once he saw the girl that was standing closer than normal to Seth. Her name rang out of the noisy crowd, silencing everyone as they realized who was accompanied by Bella.

"Hey, Quil." Leah said quietly.

Sam whirled around, ignoring Emily's comment about her macaroni salad. Kim nudged Jared in the side, glowering at the tall beauty that stood near Bella and Jacob.

"Leah," Emily breathed, breaking the odd silence. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.

"I think what you're trying to say is, 'What the hell are you doing here?'" Leah barked. "Well, I was invited."

Everyone's eyes snapped to Bella. "It's my party, right? Leah's now a good friend of mine." Bella reasoned. Jake ran a hand through his hair in nervousness. He didn't know how Sam would take this.

"Of course." Emily said tightly. She wore a plastic smile, but had an angry fire blazing in her eyes.

"Welcome…Leah," Sam said, giving her a genuine smile. Leah's resolve almost shattered at that familiar smile that she was so used to receiving. She missed that smile.

"Thanks Sam," Leah replied. It was almost cheerily. Emily growled and tugged Sam away instantly. Sam couldn't help but stare back at Leah in bewilderment. To Leah's dismay, his attention was focused back on Emily in a few moment.

"Alright!" Embry laughed. "Let's get this party on!"

Bella and Leah made their way to the snack table with the food, laying the dishes out in the empty spots. "It's all there," Leah said, wiping her hands on her jeans. "Potato salad, mac n' cheese, fried chicken wings, mini hotdogs, chips, baked beans, vegetable beef soup, fruit salad, and the desserts."

"Bella," Emily commented, looking over at their work. "You said you were only bringing fried chicken wings, baked beans and some pies. Not all this…we'll never be able to eat it all!"

"Bullshit," said Quil, coming up behind the girls with his plate. "Bella's food is kickass."

Bella plucked a small cherry pie from her pile and handed it to Quil. "For you and Claire," she said. "Jake told me how much you loved cherries."

"Sweet!" Quil exclaimed. "Thanks Bella!"

"Quil," Emily cut in, stepping between Bella and the other man. "What about my kiwi cake?"

"Nah," Quil replied. "Kiwis give Claire an allergic reaction."

"Since when?" Emily hissed, putting her hands on her shapely hips. "Claire's never told me she'd gotten an allergic reaction from kiwis."

Quil shrugged. "Dunno Em," he said, going off to find Claire with his cherry pie in his hands.

Emily huffed angrily and turned in the other direction to complain to Kim and Sam. Leah burst into laughter the moment when Emily was out of hearing range. "You told her!" she laughed. "Did you see the look on Emily's face?"

"Yeah," Bella laughed softly. "I thought we had a wolf pack to feed here. What's wrong with a couple extra dishes?"

"Absolutely nothing," Leah replied.

Bella wiped her hands on her blouse before grabbing a cup of fruity cool-aid (she was never the beer type of girl) and heading towards Jake, Quil and Seth. Paul, Jared and Kim were standing around chatting.

"Jake," she cried, hiking up the small, sandy hill with the cup in her hands. At the sound of her voice, everyone's eyes glided to her. When she nearly tripped, both Jacob and Paul rushed to grab her. Jacob roughly shoved Paul to the ground before he could get her.

Bella's cup flew out of her hand, splattering on the ground close to where Paul lay. Jacob wished that the juice had hit him. Paul glared at Jake as he stood and dusted himself off.

Bella leaned on Jake absentmindedly, following him back to where he was talking without a glance in Paul's direction.

"I don't want him trying anything with you. I swear I'll…" Jake struggled to get his words.

"Shh," she told him. "I don't want to talk about this here."

His face reddened, and he apologized quickly. "You're right. I'm sorry."

Leah hiked up the hill to talk to them, the cold air nipping at her bare shoulders. "I feel so out of place," she complained, scratching the back of her head. "I haven't been around these guys in two years."

"It's because you're always bit—" Jacob was cut off from his sentence when Bella's elbow sharply jabbed into his side. "Bittersweet…was what I meant to say."

"Thanks, Black. And I know that I've been bitchy. Could you help being that way if you saw Bella with Paul? Well, that's how I feel every time I see Sam and Emily together. Disgusted." Leah crossed her arms, glancing over at Emily cuddling up against Sam's side. Sam smiled softly and placed his arm around her shoulders.

"Touché," replied Jacob. He tightened his grip around Bella's waist as he watched Paul walk by with Jared and a clingy Kim.

Leah stomped down the sandy hill to the bonfire, where she sat with Embry. He welcomed her with open arms, calling her his "Loca Lee-Lee", earning him a light slap on the back of the head.

"I've missed ya," Embry told her with a smile. Bella looked up at Jake, who was staring at Sam.

"I have to go talk to Sam," Jake told her. "Why don't you go get some more drinks? I'll be back in a flash. I promise."

"Is everything okay?" Bella asked him, sliding out from under his grip.

"Everything's fine. He just wants to talk to me for a second." Jake replied, slipping away for a moment to talk to his Alpha.

Bella hiked down to the refreshment table, taking her spilled cup with her. She tossed the plastic cup in the trash can and reached inside the bag to fetch another cup for herself. She screwed the cap off of the cool-aid container and began to pour some of the juice into her cup.

"Do you hate me?" His lips were close to her ear as he whispered it, his body much too close to hers. He traced the outline of her waist through her jeans. Bella froze completely. "Word's gotten around...and it's been rumored that you hate me."

"What do you want, Paul?" she asked, gripping the cup of cool-aid in her hand. The juice sloshed inside the cup as she trembled with both anger, and uncertainty. Where was Jake? Would he start a fight? Would Paul try something with her?

"The one thing I can't have," he replied. "But I don't want that one thing to hate me."

"I don't hate you," Bella said, turning around. As if 500 pounds were just lifted off of his back, Paul exhaled and smiled in relief.

"Good." His voice got lower, more seductive.

"But," she interjected. "I don't particularly like you either, Lahote. As for Jake, I can't say the same."

"Oh, my Jakey-boy. He's definitely a keeper, ain't he?" Paul joked.

Bella nodded, not giving him the satisfaction of a reaction from her. After all, he just wanted to get a rise out of her and make her miserable at her own welcoming party.

"He's a lover boy. He can give ya so much more than I can, eh?" he said.

"He can give me everything I need," Bella told him defiantly, folding her arms across her chest.

"And the sex...that's amazing, mind-blowing, right?" Paul questioned, his control wearing thin.

"Better than I thought. And I thought highly," she remarked.

"Goddammit," Paul said. "Never thought it would go down like this, baby girl."

"Either did I," she admitted.

"I love you. You know that right?" he told her, gripping her forearms. "You know how much I wanna kiss you right now? Make love to you? Treat that body of yours like a goddess? _A lot."_

"Goodbye, Paul." She tried to push past him, but his body was like a rock.

"No. No, don't go. I'm not finished with you yet."

"We are finished. Do you know how much harm you've brought to me? _A lot. _So before I call Jake over here to finish you off, you better let me through." Bella seethed.

Paul moved away, defeated. God, he loved that woman. She was fiery, and he worshipped that.

Bella sat down next to Leah as Jake returned with Sam. Emily stood next to Sam, grasping his hand. She told the crowd that they had something important to tell everyone. "Oh, goodie," Leah complained. "Do I have to listen to her ramble about whatever magnificent thing's just happened to her and my…uh, Sam?"

"Hang in there," Bella told her. "I told you before we left—ignore Sam and Emily and just focus on having a great time."

"If only it were that easy." Leah told Bella.

"Lately," Emily spoke up, clearing her throat. "I've been dreaming about these beautiful fish. Fish swimming in a crystal blue pond, just merrily making their way around…"

Everyone stared at the couple standing in front of the bonfire, clutching each other as if it were the last time they'd ever be able to touch each other.

"What's her point?" Leah whispered to Bella. "Please don't tell me she called us up her to tell us some stupid old fish story."

"Thank you, Leah." Emily said sharply, her eyes flashing with spite. Leah flushed, realizing that she hadn't whispered so quietly. "What _is_ my point? Well, I'll tell you. I'm pregnant."

Leah's sharp intake of breath could be heard all throughout First Beach. Bella's eyes widened as her jaw dropped open. Everyone was silent.

"And," Emily said. "Just to put a cherry on top of the whipped cream, we're getting married as well."

Leah's whole world stopped. She couldn't breathe, her vision blurred, and she couldn't hear a thing anyone said.

"Are you okay?" Bella asked Leah, who was as red as a tomato next to her. She was humiliated, embarrassed, completely mortified.

"I'm fine," she stiffly replied. As everyone got up to congratulate Emily and Sam, Leah stalked off towards the food table.

**~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~**

**That's it for now. I'm really happy with this chapter, and I hope that y'all are too!**

**Remember that reviews are really, really motivating. People that take the time to review and leave an encouraging little review. So again, please REVIEW.**

**Hugs and Smooches,**

**Courtney**


	14. Pie

**Hi guys, it's me again. I have another chapter for you all! Yay! I am so close to hitting that 300 review mark. We'll get there soon, with the help from you guys! LOVE Y'ALL.**

**FYI: I have started another story called Russet. I wanted to try it out. So far I have 2 chapters up…I'm just letting you know that I will be continuing this story, I'm not going to go on hiatus for a long time and you guys never hear from me again…lol.**

**A/N: I've heard from a few people that they hated Paul, and in this story I do too. For all you Paul-haters out there, this chapter is for you.**

_**Dedicated to: C_Jay_CD, because I know how much you wanted this chapter!**_

**Disclaimer: SM owns.**

**WARNING: Rated M for sexual content.**

**Chapter 14: Pie**

"Lee…are you okay?" Bella asked, coming up near Leah. She nodded her head, splaying her palms out on the table. She eyed the pie near the glass bowl of chips.

"Yeah, I'm fine," the shape shifter replied sullenly. Truth was, she wasn't okay. Sam and Emily were getting married. Sam got Emily pregnant. She was supposed to be in Emily's position…not sitting here heartbroken.

"That was totally uncalled for. I mean, why would she even think to announce—"

Leah held up her hand. "Just…don't talk about it."

Bella played with her fingers nervously. "Did you want to go home?" she asked with genuine concern. "I know how awkward it probably is to be around Sam and Emily now."

Leah turned and faced the water, her short bobbed hair blowing in the wind. Bella turned back to Jake who was hiking down the hill after her. She went to him quickly with worry evident in her eyes.

"Leah's breaking down," she told him.

"I know," Jake said. He'd seen the last five minutes of her heart pouring out into her thoughts through the pack mind. He could only imagine how torturous it was to hear that. "Does she want to leave?"

"She said that she didn't want to." Bella replied, shoving her hands into her pockets.

"Yeah," he whispered. "I know. She's always been stubborn like that."

He took her hand and led her away from Leah. Seth rushed down the hill to comfort his older sister while Bella and Jake came up with Embry, Quil, and Claire.

"I still can't believe Emily would do that to Leah." Claire ranted, her face red and her brown eyes worried and upset. "I knew she didn't like her cousin, but I didn't know the hate was that strong."

Quil rubbed Claire's back as she rambled on about how upset she was about the whole situation. Embry sighed and gave Quil and apologetic look.

"I'm so outraged right now, Bella." Claire said, breaking away from Quil, who looked relieved to see his fussy imprint walk away with Bella. "And I thought Emily was an all around nice person until she went and did that to poor old Leah. Oh, and wait 'till Sue hears about this."

"Do you think she's actually pregnant?" Bella asked. Jake looked down at her with his brow raised.

"Could she fake it?" Claire exclaimed. "Watch her fake it. Now I really don't want to go over to Emily's anymore for those stupid imprint club meetings."

"Imprint club meetings?" Bella questioned.

"They're once a month, but Emily didn't invite you because Kim had a fit about you comin'. She hates you, you know." Claire said matter-of-factly.

"Oh," Bella said, taken aback by the comment. "Okay then."

Jake snorted. He'd never really liked Jared, and he'd liked Kim no more than rust on his shiny Harley Davidson. But something blue in the corner of his eye distracted him from thinking about Claire and Bella's conversation.

He turned his head to see a woman with long black hair making her way out of the forest and down to First Beach. She wore a blue (that must have been the thing distracting him) dress with a knitted white sweater over top. She waved to him. He could feel his temperature rising.

He let go of Bella—not that she noticed or cared (she wasn't the clingy type)—and stormed over to where she was standing. "Rach!" he half-yelled, half-whispered. "What the hell are you doing here? You weren't due home until Monday."

"Baby bro," she whispered. "Aren't you happy to see me? I came home early."

Jake shook his head. "No, it's not that I'm not happy to see you. It's just that—"

"Daddy told me you'd be here with your girlfriend Bella. I wanted to see her. Where is she?" Rachel quipped, taking her brother's hand and pulling him back to the conversation.

She tapped Bella on the shoulder, waited as she turned around, and jumped on her with an embrace. "Oh, Bella!" Rachel exclaimed, taking Bella completely by surprise. She pulled back, smoothing the wrinkles on Bella's shirt. "I'm sorry. I should have introduced myself before I hugged you like that. I'm Rachel Black, Jake's older sister. We met at the bonfire, remember?"

"How could I forget?" Bella smiled, grasping Rachel's hands. "You were so welcoming."

Rachel leaned into Jake's side. Whispering, "Jay, I hope you imprint on this cute little thing. I'd love to have her as a sister-in-law."

Jake blushed when he realized that Rachel had said it louder than a mere whisper and the whole group had heard his sister. Embry and Quil snickered quietly while Claire "awed" with her big Bambi eyes and nudged Bella in the side.

0o0o0o0o

Paul needed to talk to Embry, but he saw Jake standing over there. He couldn't get through to Embry with the pack mind.

_He must have blocked me out,_ he thought. _I still can't figure out how he does that._

He was afraid that if he came face to face with Jacob, he'd just beat the pulp out of him. Paul chuckled and grabbed his cup of beer. He began his hike up the hill.

When he neared closer to the group, Embry and Quil noticed him and they let him into their circle. "Embry, I need to talk to you." Paul said.

Once Bella heard his voice, her head snapped towards him. Paul chuckled again. Jake glared daggers down at him from his height of 6'7. There was a young woman standing next to Jake with her arm linked around his.

Who was she? Paul hadn't seen her before. And he swore to himself that he'd banged every girl on the Res. So why didn't he know this one?

The young woman looked over at him and smiled. Paul grinned back, initially looking away at first.

"What, man?" Embry questioned. Paul ignored him.

It was something about the way that woman smiled. It captivated him to the point where he couldn't bear to look away from her. He made eye contact with her again, zaps of electricity coursing through his veins. He stared and stared.

Rachel raised her eyebrows. She felt like he was trying to see through her clothes, or something. "Jake, what's up with your friend?" she asked.

Paul seemed to break out of his odd daze, shaking his head like a wet dog. He stuck out his hand in greeting. Jake growled lowly at Paul.

He watched his sister step out from his side and shake his hand. "I'm Paul Lahote," he said, wearing a lopsided grin on his face. "It's…very nice to meet you."

"Rachel Black," she replied, the corners of her lips tugging up in a slight smile. Paul couldn't stop staring, and he couldn't figure out what was wrong with him.

Jake studied the expressions on Paul's face as he talked to his sister. He could feel his temperature rapidly boiling up.

_It happened._

"Get away from her," he seethed.

Paul looked up, his eyes turning black instantly. "I think you should watch yourself."

Jacob's hand darted out and grabbed Rachel's wrist with his vice-like grip, tugging her to his side. She let out a small yelp, angering Paul even further.

"Don't touch her!" Paul seethed, pulling her back to his side. "You're fuckin' hurtin' her!"

Bella watched Paul with widened eyes. Rachel stood there in complete astonishment as she was being yanked around by both her brother and Paul.

"I can't believe you!" Jake hissed, shoving Paul backwards with his large hands. The other man stumbled back in the sand.

"I swear I'll blow your fuckin' head off, Black!" Paul yelled loudly. "She's _mine!"_

Sam quickly rushed over to the arguing pair, 'Alpha-ordering' them both to cut it out. "Jake, calm down. And Paul—come with me."

Sam quickly dragged an extremely irritated Paul away while Jake was left to swaddle his older sister in his bulging arms protectively. He suspected Sam would give the "talk" to Paul about imprinting, like the Alpha had done the same to him.

0o0o0o0o

"I don't want this to go down in a fight, Leah." Emily spoke softly, laying a hand on her cousin's shoulder. "I know that you loved Sam. And the truth is, I love Sam too."

Leah stood at the sweets table, eying the pies and cakes that she and Bella had made that afternoon. Emily was really testing herself, pushing Leah's buttons. If she didn't stop soon, it wouldn't end well for either of them.

Emily rubbed her slightly swelled stomach in her hands. "This baby…it seals the deal with Sam and I."

"I'm over Sam," Leah retorted, picking out the dish of peach pie and digging her plastic fork into it.

"No you're not," Emily told her, placing her skinny copper hands on her shapely hips. "Stop lying. I can see it in your eyes."

Leah glared at Emily, staring at the ugly scars on the right side of her face. Couldn't she see that she was trying to enjoy her peach pie in peace? The last thing she truly needed was to be badgered by her cousin and ex-bestfriend about her ex-boyfriend.

"I want us to be friends again." Emily stated. "I hate fighting, let alone with you. You've always been that feisty type."

Chewing on her peach pie, Leah thought of how ridiculous Emily sounded asking her to be friends again. Emily had had a sudden change in heart, or so Leah thought. But was she actually serious about wanting to become friends again?

"And I actually have to ask you something, Leah." Emily said confidently. Leah eyed her warily.

"What?" the shape shifter asked.

"Find yourself a man, so you can stop fawning over mine."

Leah nearly choked on her pie. She felt her face reddening instantly with anger and surprise. She looked down at the pie in her hands and then back to Emily's sweetly smiling face.

"You know what?" she said. Emily nodded at her, listening. "That might not be such a bad idea."

Emily nodded again. "It's a great idea. Kudos to myself."

"One more thing," Leah injected. With a swipe of her hand, she smashed the peach pie into Emily's unsuspecting face. "It's a great peach pie. Kudos to _myself._"

0o0o0o0o

Jake had taken Rachel home shortly after, too angry to talk to anyone. Bella had driven Seth and Leah home in her Chevy. Her seats were sticky from residue from the gigantic fight Leah and Emily had gotten into.

It all began with Leah smashing peach pie into Emily's face, then with Emily throwing cool-whip onto Leah's shirt. It was a lot of messy hair-pulling, cake throwing, pie smashing and cat-scratching.

Needless to say that Sam was _so_ embarrassed.

His pregnant fiancé and his ex-highschool sweetheart had gotten into a massive fight over him. Bella shook her head in remembrance of the flop of a welcoming party.

Emily's announcement of marriage and pregnancy.

Leah's small breakdown over the whole thing.

Paul's imprint on Rachel.

Jake's fight with Paul over Rachel.

Leah's pie fight with Emily.

God, could the list get any longer?

Bella grabbed her book and sat out on the porch. She hadn't yet finished _The Great Gatsby_ yet, since she'd not the time to read. She turned on the gas lamp that hung from the rafters of her cabin's porch roof, letting the light illuminate the small space in the dark.

She read, and read. She read about Gatsby's great parties and Daisy visiting him during one of the parties. She read about Myrtle's death, and her husband losing his mind.

It was midnight when she heard the leaves rustling in the trees. She eyed her rifle nervously. The gas lamp swung, the light flickering. Just like the first night she'd met him.

But this time it wasn't him…at least not in his human form. The giant russet wolf appeared out of the shadows. Bella froze; fear invaded her mind despite her knowing that he was harmless.

_C'mon Bella, how many times have you ridden on that wolf's back? _she thought.

The wolf made his way up to the front of her cabin, his yellow eyes glowing in the darkness. Bella sat up straight, her book still in her hand. She sat on the porch chair, watching the wolf's every move.

"Hi," she said at last. With her words, the wolf charged up the porch stairs and plopped himself right next to her. He was the size of a pony, yet he was sitting beside her like a dog, one that was awaiting to be petted.

She did pet him. She stroked this thick russet coat and he hummed in approval. He leaned his head back and rubbed his jaw along hers in a slow, sensual way. She smiled slightly and nuzzled back against the wolf's head.

His big tongue lolled out as he licked the side of her face softly. She giggled. The wolf took it as a happy reaction and began to lick her arms up and down.

0o0o0o0o

"Ahhhh, that feels so damn good." Jake leaned his head against the shower wall. "The way you move it…it's like heaven."

She smirked and rubbed the washcloth over the taut muscles in his back as he supported himself against the shower wall. When Jake had phased into his human form, Bella was covered in spirit-wolf saliva. His back had hurt so much from running and his head pounded from his argument with Rachel and his near-fight with Paul.

He turned around, letting the water fall over his head. With his smoldering brown eyes roaming over her body, he took her in. With a single movement, he scooped her up in his bulging arms and slammed her against the wall of the shower.

Bella was already so aroused that she disregarded that pain in her lower back when he slammed her against the wall. She instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling his body to hers.

His warm brown eyes quickly turned blackened with lust as the smell of her arousal permeated the air. The feel of his need pressed up against hers almost made her cum on the spot.

He dragged his hot lips against the silky skin of her throat while he rhythmically grinded his hard and muscled body up into that apex of her need. She arched her back with need. She was always craving his passionate love sessions.

Her body still pinned to the wall by his, one hand left its position by her head to slide between her thighs and touch her dripping arousal. The moment his fingers touched that special place, she bucked against his hardness, causing a sharp intake of breath.

"You want me," he purred in a low, languid tone. He brought his fingers up to his mouth, tasting her arousal. "You want it."

She feebly nodded and whimpered cravingly, so turned on by everything he did. She turned her head to the side, giving his wet lips better access to her neck. He suckled lightly, leaving a bright red hickey on her neck.

A mark.

A mark that let everyone know that she was his.

He brushed his knuckles over her soft cheek, brushing her sopping wet hair out of her eyes. Jacob leaned in and kissed her softly with the soft smack of skin on skin. He trailed his hot kisses down her neck, sliding her up the wall with his strong arms so he could turn his attention to her supple breasts.

He took the pink nipple into his mouth, swirling his tongue around the pert bud. He released it with a soft 'pop', then turned his attention to the other one.

With a slow roll of his hips, he had her moaning loudly with want. "Jake," she pleaded, her fingernails digging into his back. Eyes locked on hers, he pressed his cock against her sweet spot, thrusting several times.

He watched her brown eyes fill to the brim with want, need, pleasure. He kissed her neck, licking a trail to her earlobe where he sucked softly. "I'm going to let you have it."

She moaned again, louder this time.

"Tell me what I should do, baby." His hot, open-mouthed kisses and his fingers pleasuring with her dripping core were driving her insane. "Say it loud. Real loud."

He inhaled a large breath, smelling her arousal. That smell…it was enough to drive him over the wall. His mind was woozy and lust-filled, his heart beating rapidly in his chest, his cock on fire…he needed to hear her say it.

"I want you in…" she whispered.

His right hand groped her breast while his left hand tended to her need. She grinded herself on his hand, moaning faster and louder.

"Louder," he growled. His wolf was demanding dominance over his imprint.

"I want you inside me!" she half screamed, half cried.

He gulped, that fire culminating in his southern regions becoming almost unbearable. _I want you inside me, _she'd told him. His wolf howling in the inside. He was never one to deny a woman's need…

Nor was he one to deny his own.

**0o0o0o0o**

**That's it for now, guys! I will post the next chapter ASAP, but I wanted to get this up for you.**

**Soooooooo…****review ****and you'll get the second half of the love scene faster! I'm sure you all want that. :D**

**Hugs and Smooches,**

**Courtney**


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